The Strongest Pair
by Leoncrazy59
Summary: Red has been on Mount Silver for three years, training his Pokemon to their utmost limit. Lyra has decided to have a go at the mysterious trainer on top of Mount Silver, before taking a break from battling. The two face off in battle, but this is only the start of their adventure.
1. Atop Mt Silver

Lyra pushed through the waist-high snow stubbornly, not letting the intense cold affect her. Her Typhlosion followed closely behind, providing both warmth and a calming presence. Both were quite necessary, considering where she was; on Mount Silver.

The deadliest mountain in the known Pokémon world. This wasn't because of the sheer drops contained inside, or the random cracks in the ground that led deep into the earth, or the tendency for ledges to crack apart because of minute pressure. Although these were pretty bad in itself. It was because out of every mountain, this one had the worst Pokémon in existence on it.

Groups of Onix burrowed through the entire mountain, leaving caves that would eventually collapse upon themselves, bringing unfortunate Pokémon and lost trainers with it. Packs of Sneasel hunted almost everywhere, using their superior speed to take down Golbat, Zubat, and the unlucky trainer. Flocks of Golbat populated in the thousands, their poison strong enough to kill a trainer or untrained Pokémon within seconds. And, if someone was really unlucky and stupid, they would come across a Tyranitar nest, and die slowly. Overall, it wasn't a place someone would live in.

However, a powerful trainer was said to be on top of it. Some said it was Red, the champion who had disappeared years ago after disbanding Team Rocket (temporarily). Others said it was an ancient warrior, immortal and still alive from the times when Kanto and Johto were a mismatch of tribes, and Pokémon weren't even kept in pokeballs.

Lyra was betting on Red, if Blue's information was anything to go by.

She climbed up a final incline, though she was unaware of this. Slowly a peak of red made itself clear. As she climbed up the final step, she found herself facing the Champion of Kanto.

They stood there for a second, both not saying a thing. Red was facing away from her, hands in his pocket, but his Pikachu was sparking eagerly. Eventually, Lyra spoke up.

"Did you know I was coming?" Lyra asked him.

"Hard not to when half the mountain's being blown up by your Typhlosion." Red teased back at her. Lyra's jaw nearly dropped.

"You talk?" She said. Everything she had ever heard about him indicated that he never spoke to anyone but his mother.

"Of course. It's just that no one ever wanted me to." Red said. This, Lyra understood. She barely spoke as well, since most strangers in the areas she went to preferred to speak first without the expectation of anything beyond yes/no answers. It was usually up to the newcomers to initiate a conversation beyond this. A strange custom, to be sure, but a common one in the Pokémon world.

"I understand." Lyra said honestly. Red turned around, a grin stretching across his face. Lyra shivered. From where she was standing, it looked disturbingly similar to a grin on a wood carving of a Gengar she had seen back Ecruteak City. That was the only way to put it.

"I guess you came to challenge me?" Red asked her. Lyra nodded breathlessly, suddenly scared of what this might entail. Red ran away from her several paces, moving seemingly effortlessly through the deep snow. A few seconds later, there was about a little longer than a football field's length between them.

"Try not to hit me!" Red said maniacally. It had been too long since he had talked to another human being, or even battled one.

"Typhlosion, go on." Lyra said. Typhlosion leapt forward, flames rising out of its back. The snow melted, leaving a ring around the fire Pokémon. Lyra felt a swift breeze that had resulted from the mixture of warm and cool air.

Without a sound, a goliath of a Pokémon appeared from the sky. Before Lyra could react and order something, a Snorlax fell onto Typhlosion, in a Body Slam attack.

"Typhlosion, Blast Burn!" Lyra ordered quickly, wanting to knock out the Snorlax as quickly as possible. Snorlax did so, launching the giant Snorlax into the air and causing a giant wave of energy to slam through the area, knocking snow and air past herself. She grinned- it had been too long since she had fought in anything other than a League arena. Faintly, she heard Red's Pikachu yell, and found that grin disappearing.

Typhlosion was slammed into the ground by Snorlax again, having just used Giga Impact, having been unable to dodge due to using Blast Burn. Lyra cursed, but then smiled again. Snorlax would have to rest as well.

"Typhlosion, one more time, use Blast Burn." Lyra said confidently. No Pokémon that wasn't strong against fire could take two Blast Burns from Typhlosion.

Typhlosion seemed to hear this and lit up in an explosion again, lighting up the field once more. The ground was now a mix of rocky, unstable footing and slush. Lyra strained her eyes, noting that Red wasn't taking out a pokeball to return his Snorlax.

_Overconfident, isn't he?_ Lyra thought to herself. This was soon dispelled, when the smoke cleared.

Snorlax was barely hurt, the fire only leaving a slight scorching of its fur. It patted its belly, waving away the smoke, while the unmoving Typhlosion looked at Snorlax in shock.

"Crunch." Red ordered. Snorlax opened its mouth an obscene amount and chomped down, swallowing Typhlosion all the way to the middle of its body, and started to shake it viciously.

"Typhlosion, break out with Swift." Lyra ordered, panicking. The way that this Snorlax was shaking Typhlosion didn't seem like a Pokémon battle, it seemed like a wild Houndoom attempting to tear meat off of a Mareep. Red turned to his Pikachu and whispered something, the Pikachu relaying an order to Snorlax. Snorlax nodded and dropped the unconscious and wounded Typhlosion.

"Sorry." Lyra whispered sadly, returning the defeated Pokémon. She looked up at the Snorlax. She had never seen a Pokémon with that much endurance…

The reason hit her like a train. Thick Fat, the trait in Snorlax that allowed it to resist fire and ice. It may have even snuck an Amnesia or two in there to better resist the attack.

"Hitmontop, Triple Kick." Lyra yelled. The Hitmontop sped toward Snorlax and hit it thrice, but it only seemed to jiggle the Pokémon's belly. Before Lyra and Hitmontop could react, it blasted forward with a Body Slam, crushing Hitmontop. Before Hitmontop could move, Snorlax used Body Slam again and crushed the Pokémon. Snorlax rolled itself off of the fighting Pokémon gently, revealing another knocked out Pokémon.

"Dragonite, Extremespeed." Lyra said, nearly snarling as she returned her Hitmontop. It had been a long time since anyone had ever pushed her this hard. Her Dragonite flew forward and smashed into Snorlax.

"Draco Meteor." Lyra ordered. The Dragonite obeyed, blasting Snorlax point-blank before it could react. Once again, an explosion flew through the battlefield, and once again Lyra was unable to see anything. She strained her eyes, and to her relief saw the Snorlax flat on the ground, a slightly injured Dragonite standing above it.

"Your Snorlax is defeated, you should probably return it." Lyra told Red, who was motionless. Her Dragonite suddenly yelled, nearly hitting Lyra as it was thrown through the air. She looked in shock, sure that the Snorlax was back up, but it was still out like a light.

"Dragonite, what happened?" Lyra asked concernedly, as her Dragonite zoomed in with another Extremespeed. It slammed into the Snorlax hard, causing Lyra to wince.

"It's knocked out Dragonite, stop attacking it!" Lyra ordered. For some reason, Dragonite continued to disobey her, preparing to launch another point blank Extremespeed, before the Snorlax slammed into Dragonite with a Giga Impact, and then falling to the ground once more. Again, a realization hit Lyra like a rogue train. Snorlax was using the most obvious moves it would have in its repertoire; Rest and Sleep Talk. Lyra cursed, whether she lost or won this battle was irrelevant. She would have to talk to her Pokémon and apologize for her idiocy afterwards.

"Dragonite, Draco Meteor from the air." Lyra ordered. Dragonite ascended and fired, raining draconic ball of energy after draconic ball of energy upon Snorlax. Lyra paused for a second, as did the fighting, when an incredibly loud noise ripped through the air. Lyra winced empathetically for her Dragonite- that Snore attack was murderous.

The Snorlax was awake now, though it was bruised by the Draco Meteor. It started to fire Ice Beams, getting startling close to hitting Dragonite while it zoomed around in the air.

"Extremespeed, then Thunder Punch." Lyra ordered, hoping this would be enough to finish off Snorlax. Dragonite zoomed in, slamming into Snorlax too fast to react properly, before going back in again with a large Thunder Punch. Flashes of electricity flew from the spot, before Snorlax finally toppled over. Lyra was about to order another attack in a fit of deep paranoia before the large Pokémon was returned by Red. Without a word, he sent out a leviathan.

Lyra's jaw nearly dropped. She had an adult Lapras, and no Lapras that she knew about grew this large. It nearly took up the entire length of the space between them. Instead of a friendly face that met her, the Lapras had a cruel predatory gaze. Lyra nearly shuddered in fear. This Pokémon's _shell-spikes_ were as large as Lyra was. She had heard about Lapras being endangered. This Lapras didn't look like it would ever have to fear a predator beyond something like a legendary. Two Pokémon Centers could probably fit inside the Pokémon's gullet.

"I can't fight that!" Lyra screamed in near hysteria. Red laughed loudly, his voice carrying itself across to Lyra.

"Sure you can, just put a little distance between you and Lapras. Her Surf attacks are tsunamis." Red said hysterically. Lyra just shuddered. If that Pokémon's attacks scaled with its size, she could believe it. The Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center that was at the base of Mount Silver had warned her of strange instant floods that had plagued Mount Silver in the last few years. This must have been the origin of those floods.

"I'm going to have two Pokémon out, but one of them is going to have me up in the air." Lyra yelled at Red.

"Great, I'll do the same." Red said. He sent out a vaguely red shape that Lyra assumed was his Charizard. It carried Red into the air, roaring its name.

"Dragonite, carry me into the air." Lyra said. It followed these orders, flying her into the air as she sent out her Pokémon that would fight this monster.

Red strained his eyes, trying to figure out what this Pokémon was, before finally recognizing it. Not too many trainers used this one. This, he decided would be interesting.

"Toxic." Lyra whispered in Dragonite's ears for the dragon to pass on. Dragonite roared, and Lyra's Pokémon unleashed a huge amount of purple. She quickly returned it, not a second too soon- a Hydro Pump the width and height of a two-story house blasted past where her Shuckle had just been.

Lyra shivered. Even with that Toxic weakening his Lapras, this would be difficult. She sent out her Gyarados, the rare shiny Pokémon roaring in an attempt to Intimidate the Lapras. It sort of worked- the Lapras looked at Gyarados like an actual opponent, rather than prey. Lyra just shook her head. Her Gyarados was larger than the average Gyarados, and was still dwarfed by the massive bulk of that large Lapras.

"Dragon Tail!" Lyra ordered, before the Lapras could attack. Gyarados hit the Lapras, initially doing nothing, until the effects of the move _slooooooooowly_ took effect. Lapras tried to resist the pull of the move, but instead seemed to decide to fire a Thunderbolt instead, deeply hurting her Gyarados. Lyra winced at the damage she knew that would do to her Pokémon.

When the Lapras finally flew into the pokeball (Lyra doubted she would ever see something that big other than the Lapras fly like that) Red sent out another Pokémon, surprising Lyra by flying back to the ground and sending forward his Charizard. Lyra followed suit and landed, keeping out her Dragonite in case she needed to fly back into the air.

"Gyarados, Aqua Tail." Lyra told it. Gyarados did so, and to Lyra's surprise the attack hit, the Charizard choosing to take the heavy damage. She pondered this momentarily, knowing that Red's Charizard wasn't a tank- another Aqua Tail would bring it down. Her confusion was solved when her Gyarados groaned, the snarled cry of pain echoing through the battlefield. She looked at the smoking tail, and realized what had happened- Charizard had neutralized Gyarados's incredible physical strength with a sneaky Will-O-Wisp. At this, she nearly broke down in frustration. Would she be allowed to do anything without it being turned completely against her?

"Hyper Beam!" Lyra yelled desperately, knowing that the earlier Thunderbolt combined with Gyarados's burn would soon have it out of order. Gyarados followed through, hitting the injured dragon before it could fly away. Stone chips flew through the air, the Hyper Beam having displaced an obscene amount of the summit. Red had had to hide behind a rock to dodge the explosion, the attack having taken place closer to him than it was to Lyra. He returned his Charizard wordlessly, before sending out his Lapras. Gyarados barely managed to move in time before the bulk of the Lapras could smash into the sea serpent.

"Gyarados, Flamethrower." Lyra yelled, not wanting to give Lapras a chance to attack. The fire washed over the leviathan, causing a scream of pain to wash over the entire battlefield. Lyra's eyes flew open.

"Flamethrower again!" Lyra yelled. The fire washed over Lapras, causing it to squeal in pain before picking Gyarados up with a surprise Psychic and tossing it away.

"Well, there goes that." Lyra muttered to herself in defeat. This Lapras was strangely weak to fire, but Red had just knocked out her best prospect. She took out a pokeball to return her Gyarados, before it suddenly roared and flew at Lapras, fire spewing form its mouth. Lyra's spirits soared. She might not be able to win this battle, but she could take down this monster.

This sudden turn in fortune seemed to displease Red, because it earned his first order to his Pokémon that wasn't said through another Pokémon.

"Lapras, get over that ember and use Blizzard." Red told his writhing Pokémon. Its trainer's voice seemed to awaken Lapras's attention, and it blasted Gyarados with an unimaginably large white-wash of snow. Lyra's Dragonite, which had been standing next to Lyra that whole time flew in front of Lyra, its wings extended as far as possible in order to shield her. Lyra watched in amazement and slight horror as Dragonite's wings frosted up, the dragon giving a slight whine. Even with her Pokémon shielding Lyra from the Blizzard, she still felt the slush beneath her flash-freeze. After what seemed like forever, her Dragonite relaxed and gave Lyra a view of the battlefield again.

Her Gyarados was frozen solid, icicles running down the strange whiskers on either side of its face.

"Lapras, use a weak Thunderbolt to defrost her Gyarados." Red ordered sportingly. Lyra watched as the "weak Thunderbolt", which looked like a Thunderbolt from Lt. Surge's Raichu hit Gyarados, melted the ice. It also allowed the Gyarados to seize up from all the voltage, paralyzing it slightly before the sea serpent fell over.

Lyra shuddered, looking at the Lapras. Sure, it was poisoned, the Toxic effect doing slightly more damage as the time passed, but it still had at least enough time to battle for another minute or two. She considered this for a second before sending her Shuckle out once more. If she played this smartly, she could draw out the battle long enough to bring down the Lapras.

"Lapras, Surf." Red ordered. Lapras moved incredibly fast, rising up in the air one second, a wave under it the next, and flying at Shuckle last.

"Protect!" Lyra yelled as she was pulled out of the way by her Dragonite. It was just in time, as her feet skimmed the crest of the wave. She watched the water wash over the entire area, knocking sand, rock, and ice loose. It was as if the entire peak of Mount Silver had become a river. It wasn't the first time she had appreciated the power of Pokémon to control the elements, but it would be one of her more memorable experiences.

Lyra watched the ground below, Lapras sitting where she had just been. This made her realize what Red had just risked in what he was pulling.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Lyra screamed to Red as Dragonite flew her over the Lapras so she could see her Shuckle.

"Lapras would have picked you up if you didn't get out of there fast enough." Red screamed back at her. Lyra just shook her head and looked down. To her pleasure, Shuckle was still standing, undamaged by the Surf. Sure, it was shivering in extreme fright, having just weathered a tsunami followed by a wash of ice and rock, and then rolling out of the way of the big-ass Lapras, but it was pretty much undamaged.

"Power Split!" Lyra yelled in triumph. Orbs of power flew out of Lapras and entered Shuckle.

"Hydro Pump." Red yelled. Lapras fired again, but to his shock Shuckle was able to use Protect instinctively, for the second time in a row. Also noticeable was that the Hydro Pump was a lot smaller, only about half as large as before.

"Stone Edge Shuckle." Lyra told her Pokémon. Several rocks flew at Lapras, far larger than any Shuckle had ever thrown before. Each one was about a quarter the size of Lapras's head. They all struck true, hitting Lapras's soft chin. For a dramatic moment, Lapras shrieked in agony, in an almost musical fashion. Lyra watched this in amazement, before Lapras's neck finally dipped, and it closed its eyes.

"My Lapras is unable to battle." Red yelled to her, returning the giant Pokémon. For the first time in several minutes, the field was clear again.

"Return your Dragonite briefly, and then you can send it out again." Red yelled to her. Lyra was suspicious with this request, but did so, Red doing the same for his Pikachu. For a moment, the field was quiet, when his Pikachu rambled forward. Lyra nearly smiled at his choice, but then instantly tamed it. Red knew what Shuckle was best at, and obviously had a plan for it.

"Safeguard." Lyra ordered, deciding to play it safe.

"Agility." Red ordered in response. His Pikachu started to zoom around like crazy, zipping near to Shuckle before flying away, teasing the slow Pokémon.

"Encore." Lyra ordered confidently. Shuckle clapped its feelers briefly, a strange energy flying through the field. Pikachu was now caught in a trap of using Agility. It was faster than her Shuckle anyway, so it wouldn't matter how fast it got.

"Keep going." Red said, as if he had a choice. Lyra was suspicious with this, wondering what he was planning. Was he going to Baton Pass? No, Pikachu couldn't learn Baton Pass. She reviewed the last minute of the battle. Lapras passing out dramatically, Pikachu coming forward and using Agility.

Red had done something. He wouldn't need Agility for attacking Shuckle. He was delaying for some reason.

She was brought out of her musings by the sudden collapse of Shuckle. Pikachu stopped moving, skidding to a stop in front of Lyra's Shuckle. It poked her Shuckle, before chirping loudly to Red.

"Your Shuckle has fainted." Red yelled to her, much to Lyra's shock. She was almost paralyzed with curiosity, and even a little… fear? Why was she so afraid of Red? He was just a good Pokémon trainer, wasn't he?

"Ok, I've got to know. How did you do that?" Lyra asked. Red grinned again, making Lyra shiver at his freakish, Cheshire grin once more.

"Maybe I'll tell you once this is all over." Red said in response. She just nodded silently before returning her Shuckle. She looked to her Dragonite, who was shivering still from Lapras's Blizzard, and was still injured from the battle with Snorlax.

"My Dragonite is unable to battle. It got injured from the Blizzard earlier." Lyra yelled to Red.

"Sorry about that. How about I withdraw my Snorlax from battling, since I hit your Dragonite when it wasn't battling?" Red offered.

"I thought it was defeated!" Lyra nearly shrieked. Red laughed at this, making her somewhat upset. He sent out the fat Pokémon, which stumbled out and stood up. She was horrified to see it was still standing, albeit with a similar bill of health to her Dragonite.

"Withdrew it before you could finish it off." Red said, shrugging.

"Ok, let's just call it unable to battle, like my Dragonite." Lyra said weakly. Red nodded and returned it, before sending out his Pikachu once more. Lyra fingered her last pokeball. Inside was her strongest Pokémon, the only one that could turn this battle around still. She paused for a second, before thinking of something.

"Is your Charizard able to battle still?" Lyra asked him.

"He probably could, but I'll keep him on standby to taxi us down the mountain when I've beaten you." Red said, his confidence grating on Lyra's nerves.

"We'll see about that." Lyra said. She was lucky her Shuckle had used Safeguard earlier- paralyzing this Pokémon would mean losing the battle. This was her last resort, something she rarely used, a Pokémon that she normally considered an unfair advantage. She shrugged at this thought. If anyone could defeat it, Red could.

"Lugia, Aeroblast." Lyra said, a silver whir flying out of the pokeball one second, an explosion happening around Pikachu the next. She saw the electric mouse barely dive out of the way, being hit by the shock of the explosion, before zipping away with Agility.

"Thunder Wave." Red ordered, before blinking in surprise as the move disappeared in midair. Pikachu barely managed to step out of the way of another Aeroblast. He flashbacked to Lyra ordering her Shuckle to use Safeguard. Red grinned. Time to surprise her.

"Volt Tackle." Red said. Lyra was more than a bit confused at this- how did he expect his Pikachu to reach Lugia when it was flying full speed through the air, only pausing to throw a half-second Aeroblast?

This was answered quickly as Pikachu started **climbing **through the air, stepping on faint transparent panels doing so. Lyra looked at this in shock. Pikachu was forming weak Light Screen moves as it went higher, going as fast as Lugia was thanks to the millions of Agility moves used. Normally, this wouldn't be possible with Light Screen, but with the amount of electricity surrounding Pikachu, the panels supported the mouse long enough to climb further. The sky was literally glowing yellow, Pikachu more closely resembling a yellow meteor than a flying mouse.

Pikachu closed the distance between it and Lugia, matching the Pokémon turn for turn. Lyra knew that her flying legendary could take the attack, but she needed Lugia to take out three of Red's Pokémon. She thought for a second about how to counter this, when a smile split across her face, one rivalling Red's own Cheshire smile.

"Punishment." Lyra said. With the amount of Agility moves Pikachu had used, it would be obscenely powerful. Red, while not recognizing this move was about to order his Pikachu to break off and use Thunderbolt instead, only for Lugia to hit Pikachu with its wing, a large amount of dark energy on the tips of its feathers. For a second, it seemed like the earth stood still, electricity meeting darkness, when the darkness won out. Pikachu was blasted forward, all power behind its Volt Tackle gone, hurt both by recoil and by the powerful dark move. Lugia instinctively dove down and use Punishment again on Pikachu, and then clipped the mouse one more time with Aeroblast before Pikachu hit the ground, skidding until it hit a rock that broke into a million pieces as it broke the mouse's momentum.

Lyra was horrified at this, afraid for a moment that she had killed the mouse. To her shock, Pikachu stepped out of the rubble, only moderately injured.

"How is that possible?" Lyra asked, her voice breaking as she yelled the question to Red. Not even his Lapras would have been able to take two full power Punishments in a row, followed by an Aeroblast and stand up so nonchalantly.

"My Lapras is a tank, sure." Red said, choosing to allow a temporary lull in the battle in order to give his Pikachu a break. "But I've been with my Pikachu for much longer." He chose not to mention how he had seen his Pikachu had blocked the second Punishment attack with a reactive Iron Tail. "Thunderbolt."

"Calm Mind." Lyra ordered. Lugia got hit by the Thunderbolt and screamed, only able to perform the Calm Mind move afterward.

"Ancientpower." Lyra followed up with. Rocks after rocks flew at Pikachu, only for the mouse to zoom by each one. No matter what, the move missed. Not that the purpose of the attack was a failure however- she saw a tell-tale sheen appear on Lugia's body, telling her that Lugia had gotten a power boost from using the attack.

"Damn." Red said to himself. That would make things harder. "Full power Thunderbolt." His Pikachu wouldn't be able to bring down this bird thing, but he would be able to soften it up enough for his Blastoise.

For the briefest second, Pikachu lit up the entire summit, yellow light flickering on the water, ice, and rock. Then lighting seemed to descend from the heavens, managing to hit Lugia. For a second, two, Lyra saw a more powerful electric attack than she had ever seen before, even from her Raikou. After the attack finally ended, Lugia flew down to the ground, panting for air, feathers singed at the tips. Red's Pikachu seemed to wobble for a bit before collapsing. Red returned his Pikachu to its pokeball (a rare occurrence) before sending out his Venusaur.

To his shock, Lugia flew off again, as if healed slightly. Then a thought hit him. That wasn't a small breather after the electricity, it was Roost. She had probably drilled her Lugia to Roost slightly in between an opponent switching Pokémon out.

Red smiled. This trainer was almost as devious as he was. Almost.

"Pikachu is unable to battle." Red told her. Lyra nodded, mentally telling herself _one down, two to go._

"Venusaur, Energy Ball." Red ordered. Green spheres of energy started flying through the air, going so fast and accurately that Lugia was forced to move from side to side to dodge it.

"Lugia, just dive through it and use Psychic." Lyra told her Pokémon, knowing that Energy Ball wouldn't hurt very much, and that she could use Psychic to deal some heavy damage. Lugia did so, ignoring the glancing blows the attack did to its body.

Red smiled. This is where Venusaur's secret strength came into use. "Sludge bomb."

Lugia was fazed by the sudden explosion of poison on its flank, and quickly halted in midair in shock. This was long enough of a pause for Venusaur to nail Lugia twice more with Sludge Bomb before Lugia dived out of there. This, unfortunately was enough to poison Lugia.

Lyra cursed. She hadn't want to spam Aeroblast anymore, since it took a lot out of Lugia, but she had no choice.

"Aeroblast." Lyra yelled. Lugia unleashed the attack, only for Venusaur to disappear in a flash, and be replaced with a Blastoise that hurtled through the air using Rapid Spin, hitting Lugia's side. Before Lyra could react, Blastoise grabbed onto Lugia's wing, held on tight by using Strength, and then unleashed a point blank Flash Cannon.

This lead to both of them hurtling toward the ground, with Red being the only one who could actually recall his Blastoise and replace it with his Venusaur. Luckily for Lyra, her Lugia managed to right itself before impacting the earth.

"Leech seed." Red told Venusaur, happy over this boon Blastoise had given him. He had sent out Blastoise with the whispered request to "do some damage", and the turtle had more than delivered.

Large viney seeds enveloped Lugia, draining energy from its already weakened body. Poison coursed through the legendary Pokémon's veins. A lot of health was already gone in the first place. Lugia breathed hard, knowing it had lost. Even if it took down Venusaur here and now, it would be too weak to fight the full strength Blastoise. In a final, last ditch action to at least bring Venusaur down with it, Lugia used Psychic. A momentary wince of pain from Venusaur later, and Lugia collapsed.

For a moment, the battlefield was silent. Finally, Red started crossing over to Lyra, sidestepping the small (or in the case of the hole where Gyarados had let loose its Hyper Beam, large) craters. After a minute of walking, Red had his hand extended for Lyra to shake. She took his offer.

"Great battle." Red said. He hadn't felt that alive in a long time.

"Same." Lyra said, strangely happy over how the battle had turned out. She hadn't been pushed into a corner that badly since Whitney and her Miltank, when her Typhlosion had still been a tiny Quilava. For a moment, neither said anything, when Lyra spoke up.

"So what was with my Shuckle fainting mysteriously?" Lyra asked. At this, Red grinned widely. He debated telling her for a second, before deciding to as a consolation prize.

"You remember my Lapras fainting?" Red asked her.

"Yes…" Lyra said, not sure where this was going.

"Well," Red said, scratching the back of his head. "My Lapras actually used one more attack as it collapsed. Remember when it cried out?"

"Perish Song." Lyra said breathlessly. That was genius initiative on the part of his Pokémon. No other Pokémon's Perish Song was that deep, so only Red would have recognized it. That was why he had had her return Dragonite, and he Pikachu.

"Yeah, I was pretty proud of Lapras there. By the way," Red said, deciding to give away another secret. "My Pikachu is actually a lightweight to attacks."

"Then how did it take both Punishments?" She asked, surprised. "And the Aeroblast?"

"It took the first Punishment head on, although the Volt Tackle weakened it, I think. But the second attack Pikachu used Iron Tail to take the majority of the damage. As for Aeroblast, you ignore that Pikachu had been using Light Screen to climb through the sky. Pikachu still had protection from energy based attacks like that.

"Wow." Lyra said, trying to think of how her Ampharos could use a similar strategy. Red could see the gears running in her head and chuckled; it was remarkably similar to his own face when he was planning something.

"Why don't we talk more down at the Pokémon Center?" Red said, sending out his Charizard. The lizard looked huffy at Red's decision to keep him from the battle, but obediently allowed Red onto its back.

"Want a ride? I'm going to stop there anyway." Red offered. Lyra took his hand, grinning

"Sure." She said, settling in as the dragon soared down Mt. Silver, ignoring the hurricane-force winds that would normally deter the mightiest of Bird Keeper trainers. They descended, unaware of this being a beginning to a journey, rather than another part of their destination.


	2. A Battle, a Favor, a Mother, and Death

Lyra and Red were sitting in the Pokémon Center at the base of Mt. Silver, waiting for their Pokémon to be healed. Lyra was telling the story of the battle to a group of trainers who had been training at the entrance to the mountain, and a group of Pokémon Rangers who had come to investigate the mysterious explosions and flashes of light on the summit. Everyone oohed and awed at the right places, and Red even surprised them by adding the occasional detail from his point of view. Finally, as they concluded the story, one of the Rangers managed to speak up.

"You two do realize that because your battle was so destructive, I can't allow either of you to battle on top of Mt. Silver again?" The Ranger asked him. Red and Lyra nodded at this, embarrassed, while the rest of the people gathered around the table started laughing like crazy. Finally, one of the trainers spoke up.

"Red, why did you come down from that mountain after staying up there so long?" The trainer asked. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but a year and a half ago I made it up there and challenged you."

"I remember you." Red said, neglecting to mention how the girl's Pokémon had been totally wiped out by the time she reached the summit, and how she had lasted a minute before he had to fly her back down himself.

As for her question, he had mentioned earlier how this would be his last battle on Mt. Silver, which made the Ranger's restriction a moot point.

"After battling Lyra, I decided I'm going to explore around, and try to find some other powerful trainers to battle." Red said. Some leaned in, expecting him to say more, but he once again zipped up his lips in classic Red sense.

Lyra and Red spent the night at the Pokémon Center. As they prepared to leave, Lyra decided to ask Red something she had been itching to do.

"Hey Red, can I ask where you're going?" Lyra asked politely. Red nodded.

"I'm going to say hi to a few friends, and then leave. I hear the Hoenn League opened up right after I started training on Mount Silver, so I'll probably go there and try for it." Red explained as they exited the Center.

"Do you mind if I come along?" Lyra asked him. He looked at her a little apprehensive.

"I don't really slow down for anyone, so unless you want to play catch after you beat each gym after me…" Red began, only to be interrupted by Lyra.

"No, I was actually planning on taking a break from battling after fighting the mysterious trainer on top of Mt. Silver." Lyra said. Red waited for an explanation as to why, but didn't hear it. He didn't press for it. Lyra had her secrets, and he had his.

"Then I think it would work out well." Red responded. Without a word more, Red sent out his Charizard, and Lyra her Dragonite. The two took off, heading for Viridian City.

They arrived an hour later. Red looked around, taking in the place. It had been four years since he had last been here, since he had started training in Mount Silver. To be honest, not much seemed to have changed, except for Blue taking over for the former Rocket Giovanni as gym leader.

Red entered the gym, Lyra following after him. Two trainers stopped them, before recognizing Lyra.

"Oh hey Lyra, do you want us to tell Blue you're in?" They asked her. She shook her head.

"No, I'm just bringing a new friend in. He wanted to know where the easiest gym in Kanto is, so I brought him here." Lyra said mischievously, earning a raised eyebrow from Red. The two gym trainers, not noticing this silent interplay between the two gained sadistic smiles.

"Sure, let us get the gym leader." One of them said. They exited through a door. Red and Lyra waited patiently for a few moments before Blue came stomping out, slightly upset.

"What bozo came here seeking the easiest gym there ever fucking was?" Blue asked violently, waving them along so he could bring them to the arena. He didn't even bother to look around at them. Not that he would have known who Lyra's companion was, considering Red's clothing choice. Red had chosen a simple blue t-shirt and jeans for the moderate Kanto climate. He had forgone the hat too, which Blue hadn't seen Red without in ages. Add to that his rough haircut, and growth from living on Mt. Moon, and no one but his mother would be able to recognize him at first glance.

"I did." Red said. Blue, not recognizing Red's voice simply nodded vigorously before bringing them to the arena. It was twice as large as the standard Pokémon gym arena, having been built by Giovanni with Rocket funds.

"Since I'm meant for beginners apparently, we'll do a two-on-two battle." Blue said, sending out his Jolteon. Red in response sent out Pikachu.

"Pin Missile." Blue ordered, only for Pikachu to dodge out of the way. "Quick Attack." Blue followed up with, hoping to hit Pikachu and stop if from beginning an Agility.

"Double Team." Red ordered, surprising Lyra. She had forgotten Pikachu could learn that move, since Red hadn't used it in their battle. Pikachu split up into multiple copies. Blue didn't react badly to this, since it was something he had seen from beginner trainers a million times.

"Thundershock to find out the real one, Double Kick to pummel." Blue said. Jolteon obeyed, letting loose a low powered area Thundershock in order to disperse the copies.

"Brick Break on its Double Kick." Red ordered as the Jolteon closed in on Pikachu. Blue was surprised at this trainer having taught his Pikachu this move, but there was no way he would he be able to block his Jolteon's Double Kick.

To his shock, Pikachu did just that, and sent Jolteon back with some pain.

"Agility, Brick Break." Red said. Pikachu zoomed in, nailing the Jolteon. Jolteon reacted defensively, its fur bristling and firing several pin missiles. Pikachu was knocked back by this. Jolteon fired several more, only for Pikachu to either bat them away with Iron Tail or dodge.

"Interesting…" Blue said, taking a look at the trainer for as long as he would dare before returning his eyes to the battlefield. He could figure out this puzzle later.

"Shadow Ball, Toxic." Blue ordered.

"Light Screen, Thunderbolt." Red said in retaliation. The Shadow Ball was weakened by the Light Screen, and then dissipated by the Thunderbolt, as was the Toxic.

"Shadow Ball again and again." Blue said, now seriously concerned. Pikachu just dodged out of the way of this, zooming in toward Jolteon.

"Brick Break." Red said.

"Pin Missile." Blue said, attempting to weaken the attack by causing Pikachu as much pain as possible when it slammed its little fists into his precious Jolteon.

"Trip it." Red suddenly said. A Grass Knot appeared from the ground and wrapped itself around Jolteon's leg. In the momentary lapse of attention, it dropped its Pin Missile face. Pikachu took well advantage of this with a Brick Break, followed by another, and then another. Before Blue could order another attack, Jolteon pitched forward, unconscious. Blue returned his Jolteon before looking up at his challenger. This guy definitely looked familiar.

"Yo, stranger. What's your name?" Blue said, deciding to be forward.

"Don't you recognize me Blue? It's only been four years." Red said teasingly, throwing his signature, if faded hat back on. The color in Blue's face drained away, as if he was being confronted by a ghost. Finally, he sighed.

"I didn't need a re-enactment of my defeat four years ago today." Blue said, wanting to slap himself for his stupidity. Same stupid mistakes, same stupid assumptions, same Pokémon delivering the knock-out blow to his Jolteon.

"Could have fooled me. Especially with how you decided to make it easier for me to beat you by limiting this battle to two vs. two." Red pointed out. Blue swallowed his pride and just nodded. This wasn't just Red at Indigo Plateau. This was Red after four years of that hell-on-earth called Mount Silver, if his grandfather was correct. Blue took out his next pokeball, only to remember that Lyra had come to the gym with Red.

"You set this up!" Blue said accusingly, pointing to Lyra. Lyra smiled brightly at him.

"No idea what you're talking about!" Lyra said, happily adjusting her ridiculous hat. "But thanks for pointing me towards Mt. Silver. You were right, Red was up there." Blue nodded at this, glad he could have one redeeming quality out of this confrontation. He sent out his Sandslash, the same one he had used in their battle at the Indigo Plateau several years ago. Red returned his Pikachu as Blue expected. What he didn't expect was the Lapras that barely fit inside the room, taking up most of the area, having to crane its neck so as not to bump the ceiling.

"What the fuck have you been feeding this thing Red?" Blue asked, remembering the Lapras only being slightly larger than average the last time they had met.

"Onix flesh. Softened up Onix Pokémon that had attacked us until they died, and then let my Lapras eat up. At first I was concerned about Lapras gaining weight, but then she started to grow." Red said proudly, probably the only trainer in the world that would come up with the bright idea of feeding his Lapras mashed Onix.

"Right…" Blue said, a sweat drop running down his face. "Are you sure you don't want to switch out or something? I would completely understand considering the size of this thing." Blue said, looked at Lapras having to weave its neck away from the rafters of the ceiling.

"No." Red said simply. Blue looked to him for more information, but Red's mouth was shut tight once more. Blue shrugged and decided to go ahead.

"Sandslash, Swords Dance followed by Earthquake." Blue ordered. Sandslash started to use Swords Dance.

"Surf." Red ordered at the same time, smiling. Blue instantly understood what was happening. Red could flood the whole arena, and then freeze the thing as well. He made sure he was firmly in the trainer box, and that Red was in the same, so that they would be protected by the arena shielding. He looked over to Lyra.

"Get up in the air so you don't get flooded." Blue said. Lyra nodded in thanks and was lifted up by her recently-withdrawn Togekiss. Water started to flow around Blue and Red's trainer box, being redirected by the force fields beneath them. Soon the water was neck high, forcing Blue to send out his Exeggutor inside the trainer box and sit on top of it so he could see the field.

"Keep using Swords Dance, only evasively." Blue said, as Lapras struggled to maintain the Surf. Sandslash kept using it, even maintaining the attack as it leaped up into the air when Lapras froze the entire arena with some kind of pre-arranged Blizzard. Soon Sandslash's claws were practically glowing in power as it spun slowly in the air.

"Earthquake." Blue ordered confidently, intent on breaking the ice and causing an earthquake at the same time. Breaking the ice would give Sandslash better footing. Sandslash jumped into the air and slammed toward the ground, intent on hitting solid ground. What it met instead was a thin top layer of ice, followed by a lot of water. Blue suddenly realized what Red's plan was. Lapras alone displaced a lot of area in the arena, so it wouldn't take too much power to flood the arena like this. There was enough water that he could have Sandslash slam into the ground, but it would only shake a little earth. The ice had merely been bait to draw him into having Sandslash try, and then slow the Pokémon down enough for something. There was the further issue that Sandslash couldn't use Dig, unless it wanted to drown.

Sandslash tried to stumble out of the water, but to Blue's horror its claws were sharpened so much that as it tried to gain purchase on the ice it cut straight through it. Meanwhile, Lapras was slowly turning, cracking the ice and sending small waves through the arena. Soon Lapras was facing Sandslash, an evil grin on its face. Blue shivered. No move could get him out of this situation. Sandslash was desperately trying to get out of the water, not meant to be in there for so long. Normally he could use Rollout to jump into the air and back onto ground, but Swords Dance made that impossible as well. Sandslash would just pop through the ice like it was paper. He could have Sandslash glide into and through the air with Swords Dance, but it would move slowly, and be an easy target.

"Red, Lapras won't eat Sandslash, will it?" Blue asked, resigned and a little disturbed. Lapras was now opening its maw wide, and Blue didn't think it was for a Crunch attack.

"I don't know, it's been a few hours since Lapras last ate an Onix." Red said, shrugging. He didn't bother to mention how Lapras only really needed to eat once a month. Any extra was just dedicated toward extra growth.

"I'll toss this battle then." Blue said, returning his Sandslash before it really got hurt. Red returned his Lapras appreciatively over this. As soon as the water drained, both left their trainer box.

"Impressive Red. Disabled his Pokémon without even really attacking it." Lyra said.

"Yeah, yeah. So do you want this badge again Red?" Blue asked Red rhetorically. Red shook his head.

"No, just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing. So how are you doing?" Red asked him, surprising Blue. Red hadn't been this talkative prior to Mt. Silver.

"Good, good. Get paid a good rate as a gym leader, since I filter out a lot of people before they reach the Indigo Plateau. A lot of pretty women live around here, and are easily impressed by my Pokémon. It's a good life." Blue said, motioning for them to follow him to his office. One of Blue's gym trainers noticed them on their way there.

"So Blue, how'd the battle go?" One of them asked, sure he had beaten the challenger.

"I lost 2-0." Blue said bluntly, stopping the trainer in his tracks. "I'll explain later." The trainer nodded silently as they walked into Blue's office.

The room was sparsely decorated, although it did contain several chairs. A desk sat in the middle with a half-filled out gym report. A gym badge was on a plaque in the middle of the room, facing toward them. To one of the sides, Lyra noted was a poster of a famous scene from Red and Blue's Indigo Plateau battle, where Snorlax was running towards Alakazam, its arms outstretched, while Alakazam was struggling to keep it back using Psychic. Blue had barely managed to defeat Snorlax with two well-aimed Focus Blasts, but soon had lost Alakazam to Pikachu.

Blue pulled out some soda bottles from a fridge behind his desk and handed them out, one each.

"So Red, I've got to ask. Why didn't you visit your mom these past four years? She's been convinced that you died on Mt. Silver, or that some Rocket grunts finally got you." Blue asked sternly. At Red's raised eyebrow, Blue spoke up.

"My mom is friend with yours, remember? I kept getting bugged every weekend by both of them to go to the top of Mt. Silver and check on you." Blue said, a bit annoyed.

"Then why didn't you?" Red asked him. Blue looked at him incredulously.

"You may think that hellhole is home, but I value life. I prefer to stick around in greener pastures." Blue said, taking a long sip of his soda.

"It's not so bad once you clear out the Sneasel herds on the summit." Red said jokingly. Blue didn't pick up what this meant, but Lyra did. Sneasel were vengeful. If you tried to encroach on their territory, they couldn't be relocated. They had to be slaughtered.

"Whatever. Can you just make sure to visit with her on your way to wherever the hell you're going?" Blue asked Red. Red nodded. He was planning on doing this anyway. They sat there drinking, until Blue finally cleared them out, stating he had paperwork to fill out. On their way out, Red left a final passing word.

"Why are you a gym leader Blue?" Red asked him.

"Because I needed to make a living as a trainer, and couldn't become Champion." Blue said. At this, Red grinned.

"Well, I'm going to Hoenn to be Champion there. You should go for it again." Red said, finally turning around and leaving, Lyra right behind him. Blue just looked at Red for a second before hurrying inside.

"Reggie, you're in charge of the gym while I'm out." Blue told him.

"Sure, where are you going?" Reggie asked him, still curious over the battle Blue had just gone through.

"Going to challenge the Indigo Plateau." Blue said nonchalantly, going to grab some food from his fridge.

"What?" The trainer asked him, surprised. Blue had refused to take the Champion post at Kanto again after being beaten by Red, stating that the position belonged to someone else. The League had eventually appointed Lance to be Champion, not wanting only the Elite Four like it had been for several years. This had stayed the same, even when Lyra fought, beat, and turned down the Elite Four and Champion position.

"That was Red I battled. He gave me his blessing." Blue said simply, drawing even more questions. He just ignored Reggie before heading off to a Pokémon Center to get his Pokémon healed.

* * *

"Hey Red, why'd you never visit your mom?" Lyra asked him as they trudged toward Pallet Town. He appeared to consider this for a second, before figuring out how to answer this.

"Forgot." Red said simply. Lyra nodded. It seemed like a good enough answer, Lyra hadn't visited hers in person until she had all eight gym badges and was going to challenge the Elite Four. They walked on in silence for several more hours. Occasionally a Rattata would bother them, but would be swept aside by their ever-vigilant Pikachu and Typhlosion.

Red took in the sight of Pallet Town, giving a deep sigh of nostalgia. He had left Pallet Town at 16, an unhappy Pikachu behind him. The last time he had returned, it was as a Champion. Now he was visiting as a returning hero of sorts, if the reactions so far were anything to go by.

Red walked past his house, choosing to go to Professor Oak. Lyra just kept silent, deciding he had a secret, good reason for not going straight home. In reality, Red was afraid of his mother's wrath.

Red knocked on the door, Lyra standing silently behind him. They heard someone stumbling, followed by a lab assistant for Professor Oak answering the door.

"Hey, is Professor Oak available? My friend and I want to see him." Lyra asked.

"Oh, hi Lyra, friend of Lyra. Yeah, sure thing. You actually came at the perfect time. The professor wanted to talk to you about doing a favor for him." The assistant said.

"Oh, what is it?" Lyra said, following the man.

"I think it's best if the Professor explains." He said mysteriously. Lyra frowned at the mysteriousness, but decided it was fine if she was going to be learning about it from Professor Oak anyway.

"Hello Lyra. You came at the perfect time. I have something to ask of you. And who's this friend of yours? Is this that Silver I've heard so much about?" Oak said, a teasing tone at the end.

"Hey Professor Oak. No, it isn't Silver." Lyra said. Professor Oak waited for her to explain, but she said nothing more. Shrugging, he turned away dramatically, and pointed to a map on the wall.

"Lyra, you mentioned going to Mt. Silver. I would like to ask a favor of you while you are up there." Professor Oak asked her.

"Um, about that Professor…" Lyra tried to say, guessing what he was about to ask, when Professor Oak interrupted her.

"You are perhaps the only person who is both powerful enough and willing to do this. I've tried to convince my grandson to do this, but he is too afraid of Mt. Silver." Professor Oak said, dramatically pointing to Mt. Silver.

"There is a person on top of Mt. Silver, who I suspect is the former Champion Red. He has been in self-exile for three years, and he must come down!" Professor Oak yelled. Red watched Professor Oak with some concern. He wouldn't call his little jaunt on Mt. Silver self-exile, so much as he would a training exercise that got a little out of hand.

"How do you know it's him?" Red asked Professor Oak, interested in how he had been tracked there.

"He keep ordering his Pokémon from the PC in the Mount Silver." Oak answered. Red opened his mouth wide like a goldfish, and then closed it.

"Professor, why does he need to come down so badly? If he's been up there for so long, why would I forcefully drag him down?" Lyra said, sending an amused glance towards Red.

"Because he's being selfish! He's been that way ever since I first gave him a pokédex! I wanted him to catch as many Pokémon as possible so he would fill out valuable information on his pokédex about where he had caught them, how he had caught them, what their feeding habits appeared to be, and more! And he would have a valuable tool for telling him what moves his Pokémon knew, and more. Most trainers would be grateful! And what does he do, except only fill the pokédex with-"Professor Oak said, a little angrily.

"Professor, I don't think Red would appreciate you giving away how many Pokémon he registered." Red interjected.

"Very well then, but it still pissed me off! I mean, one of them was the discovery of a lifetime, but-"  
"Professor, again, I don't think he would appreciate you even hinting at his Pokémon." Red said once more.

"Well, fine then, but he's still so selfish! His mother misses him so much, and he hasn't visited her in four years. I'm sure he's going through some kind of teenage angst-"Professor Oak was interrupted mid-sentence by Lyra laughing. Red was sullenly sitting to the side, angst-ing over how the Professor was acting.

"You think it's funny, but he's gone through a lot- not that that's excusing his angst. I mean, everyone knows he killed Giovanni-"

"What?!" Red said very loudly, something uncharacteristic from him outside of battle. Lyra looked at him, an eyebrow raised. Everyone in Kanto and Johto had thought he killed Giovanni, but Lyra knew this to be false, having fought Giovanni after going back in time, preventing him from meeting up with Team Rocket in Goldenrod City. That was a story in itself.

"I didn't kill anyone." Red quickly added, before realizing what he had just said. Oak's eyes shot wide open.

"Hey Professor Oak, I sort of battled Red already." Lyra said. Oak sputtered for a second, before finding his voice.

"So who won?" Professor Oak asked them. At this, Red recovered, raising a skeptical eyebrow toward Professor Oak.

"Oh yeah, of course you would Red." Oak said, seemingly forgetting his accusation of murder earlier.

"What do you mean by that?" Lyra asked dangerously, her hat wobbling wildly as she shot up.

"Well, he was the last Kanto Champion before the Johto and Kanto League merged." Professor Oak pointed out. "Plus, he's a Kanto native. Everyone knows that Kanto makes 'em right."

Now Red was the one chuckling, while Lyra was sputtering indignantly. Finally, Lyra spoke up.

"So Red, you really didn't kill Giovanni?" Oak asked him. Red raised an eyebrow once again.

"I just told you two, I didn't kill him. Why are people thinking this?" Red asked.

"Well, you defeated him. And then he disappeared, and didn't even reappear during the Rocket re-insurgence." Oak pointed out. Lyra shifted uneasily, knowing why but unwilling to speak up in fear of facing the same accusation. This had Red raising his eyebrow even higher.

"Rocket re-insurgence?" Red asked in shock.

* * *

Several hours later, Red was brought up to date with what had happened since he left civilization. Needless to say, he was blown away.

"I've missed a lot." Red said, finally reclining back. "So tell me again how this Silver tore your fake Rocket costume off of your body?" Lyra slapped his arm. Oak cleared his throat.

"So now that you're caught up, I have a favor to ask of both of you." Oak began, only for Red to frantically shake his head. "Why are you refusing before I've even told you what it is?"

"You tend to ask favors without giving anything in return." Red said. He instantly realized that this is why Oak wanted him down from Mt. Silver.

"I house your Pokémon here! Do you realize what a special favor that is, most trainers have their Pokémon stuck in PC systems. You only have them in there when you sent for them at Mount Silver." Oak said incredulously.

"I only have a few Pokémon here. If I wanted, I could just rent them a beach plot by the sea." Red pointed out.

"Would you please just hear me out? I want you and Lyra to go to the Hoenn region and challenge the Pokémon League there." Professor Oak stated. Silence reigned.

"I would like to gain more information on Pokémon with your pokédex, even if you won't catch any." Red was still silent, and had a face set in stone, as was Lyra. Oak waited a few seconds, but finally bowed to the pressure and sighed.

"Ok, a colleague named Professor Birch is telling me the region is having problems with groups called Team Aqua and Team Magma. Since you tended to stumble across evil plots while Team Rocket was powerful, I thought I could send you there." Oak said sheepishly.

"Why are the police never getting involved in this? Why did two teenagers have to beat Team Rocket?" Lyra asked him incredulously.

"A variety of bribes, general incompetence, and well trained Rocket members making life fearful for the average citizen who would have otherwise intervened." Oak listed. "As for those two teams in Hoenn, they are exploiting traditional creation myths in that region, as well actually appealing itself to certain radical trainer groups in order to propagate themselves, not to mention using the same tactics Team Rocket had used." Lyra just sighed at this, while Red nodded in appreciation of these well-conducted strategies.

"I'm going to challenge the Hoenn League anyway." Red said. Professor Oak waited for him to say anything more, but once again he used his silent treatment tactic again. And once more, Oak caved.

"Will you take care of the problems they are having with Team Aqua and Magma then, as you come across them?" Professor Oak asked him. At this, Red's eyes narrowed.

"If you remove my party limit. If you inform their League that you sent me there partially for that purpose. If you upgrade my pokédex. If you give my mother protection." Red listed carefully.

"I want the same." Lyra said. Sure, it was dangerous, but she had always been interested in visiting Hoenn as a child. Plus, Red was a cutie.

At these requests, Oak nodded. But Red wasn't finished yet.

"I also want two wild Onix caught a month for the purpose of feed for my Lapras. Pokechow isn't cutting it anymore." Red said, ignoring the shocked look on Oak's face.

"You do realize that your Lapras only needs to eat once a month? It's going to get obese if you feed it two **Onix** a month. Red just sighed, poked Lapras's pokeball out the window, and sent it out. The low roar of the leviathan, as well as the sight seemed to shock Oak into abject silence. Red just leaned back in his chair and mentally counted down the moments until he started getting pelted with questions.

* * *

After Red impatiently answered Oak's questions about Red's Lapras and was given his Pokémon and their pokéballs, the two set off for Red's mother. The two had to slip out the back door of Oak's lab in order to do so, the Lapras having gained too much attention from visitors to Pallet Town hoping to intercept Red.

"So will I get to see your mysterious Pokémon soon?" Lyra asked teasingly.

"Not here." Red said, glancing around at a few trainers who had filtered into Pallet Town looking for him. Luckily, he still didn't look like himself.

"But you will?" Lyra asked, smiling at Red's nod.

Red's house was surrounded by reporters and trainers. Red felt a twinge of sympathy for his mother at the fact that people would be bugging her about the location of her son when she didn't even know where he was in the first place. A few appeared to have gone to Professor Oak's when they spotted the ungodly Lapras that Red had sent out, but there was still a sizeable crowd. Lyra released her Typhlosion, who unleased a loud roar in order to gain the crowd's attention.

"Why are all of you badgering Red's mom? I'm sure that she wouldn't appreciate being bothered like this." Lyra said angrily, Typhlosion growling in agreement.

"We're here for Red. Of course he'll visit his mother." One of the trainers said.

"Lyra, can I have a battle?" Another one of the trainers asked.

"And who is this man next to you? Is he here by convenient coincidence or is he a boyfriend?" A reporter asked her. This seemed to set off a flurry of questions, before Red finally interrupted. With a flick of his hand, he sent out Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt into the air." Red said. A loud crack went through the air, the destructive electricity arching into the sky. The explosive sound seemed to silence everyone as they realized who he was.

"All of you are on private property. **My mother's private property.**" Red said the last part angrily. Everyone quickly got off of the lawn, and made way for Lyra and Red. He went up to the door and knocked. And then knocked. And then knocked again.

"Is your mom even home?" Lyra asked him. Red nodded.

"The T.V. is on, so she's home. She's just hiding from reporters. She went through this when I became Champion of Kanto." Red said, remembering that day. He had gone home, he and his Pokémon exhausted, where his mother had allowed him to go to bed without asking any questions until the next morning. Unfortunately, that morning had included a mob of reporters.

"So how do we get in?" Lyra asked him. Red shrugged.

"I'll just have to go to Professor Oak's lab and call her from there." Red said. At that, Lyra opened up her Pokégear and brought up the call function.

"Here, just type out her number." Lyra offered. Red nodded in thanks. They listened to a ring, and then two. Finally, someone picked up.

"Hello?" A woman asked, cautious. She had already been contacted twice by reporters who had found her number.

"Hey mom, could you let me in?" Red asked.

"Red?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm at the front door." Red said. They heard a couple of footsteps followed by the door swinging wide open.

"My baby!" She said, tears running down her face. Before Red could protest, she gave him a large hug, drawing a reaction from the crowd surrounding the house. A variety of _ahhhhhh_s from the mob followed the hug. Eventually, she separated, only to begin her interrogation.

"Where have you been? Have you been eating well? How are your Pokémon? Are you friends with Lyra here?" She started to pelt him with, only for him to hold up his hand.

"I'll answer your questions mom. But I don't think we want to be overheard." Red said, pointing to the crowd listening in on their conversation. She nodded in understanding, a nod that was eerily similar to Red's.

The three of them entered the house, Red's mother making sure to lock up behind them. Upon finding out that they hadn't eaten yet, she cooked them dinner while interrogating Red for information. After expressing shock, and a little bit of anger over Red not telling anyone he was on Mt. Silver, she eventually just sighed in acceptance.

"Sometimes I wish you had never gone on that Pokémon journey. I'm proud of what you achieved, and your Pokémon are lovely, but it scares me to think of the situations you've been in. I mean, first Team Rocket, and then you decide you want more danger?" Red's mom said.

"Miss…"

"My last name is Papenbrook, Lyra."

"Thanks." Lyra said. "Miss Papenbrook, in all honesty, Red and I didn't exactly go looking to fight Team Rocket like we did." This was only half honest. She could have left some of it to Lance, just as Red could have left a few situations to the League, but the two had never intentionally come across Team Rocket.

"I know that, but it still scares me. I mean, why did two teenagers have to take down Team Rocket?" She pointed out incredulously. "And now people are making up stories about you two. Did you know that people are accusing you of killing Giovanni Red?"

"I learned about that today. I don't see why though, he was fine the last time I saw him." Red commented nonchalantly.

"When was that?" Lyra asked.

"My gym battle with him." Red said, shrugging in a _what-can-you-do_ fashion.

"And Lyra, did you know people are starting to blame you for the former Rocket agents who keep getting killed?" She asked.

"First I've heard about that." Lyra said.

"Well, I'm just glad the two of you are fine." Red's mom concluded. "So what about you two?"

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked.

"Well, you two are travelling to another region. Alone. As teenagers. I'm just saying, I remember what it's like to be a trainer and going around with someone attractive and of the opposite sex…"

"Miss Papenbrook!" Lyra interjected, her face red.

"I'm just saying." Red's mom said gently, although she had a grin almost as wide as Red's. "If you need protection, I can offer advice. I know most Pokémarts offer it discretely."

"I don't think that'll be an issue." Lyra said weakly, while Red chuckled at her discomfort.

"Ok you two, but just… be careful. It can get lonely in those tents, you want some warmth, and the next thing you know-"

"I get it, I get it!" Lyra proclaimed. Red was fixated on something else.

"Tents?" Red asked. "I never slept in a tent."

"You never knew there was a tent in the storage unit of your backpack?" Red's mom asked curiously.

"I've been saying this a lot recently, but this is the first time I've heard of it." Red said.

"Where have you been sleeping then?" Lyra asked, genuinely curious.

"Usually under a tree with my Pokémon. On Mt. Silver I slept by Charizard's tail." Red said, shrugging.

"Well, now you know." Lyra offered. Meanwhile, Red's mom seemed shock.

"You're telling me that rain, snow, or sleet you slept outside?" She asked him, pale with worry.

"Yah." Red said, shrugging. He was oblivious to his mother's worries. "My Pokémon are pretty warm. Well, not Lapras, but the rest are."

"Red Papenbrook!" She shouted at him in response to his nonchalant attitude. "You will stay the night in your warm bed, and you will let me fatten you up."

"Ok mum." Red said, properly beaten. Lyra chuckled at him, only for her to be rounded on.

"And you?" Miss Papenbrook asked. Lyra held up her hands defensively.

"I slept in a tent, I swear." Lyra said. A staring contest went down, until finally Red's mother relented.

"Ok dear, but I want you to stay the night. Not in Red's bed, of course. I may know the inevitable, but you two should learn to sneak about like proper teenagers." She told them.

"Miss Papenbrook!" Lyra said in a whiney tone.

"Please dear, just call me Linda." She said, a twinkle in her eye.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a not-so-warm location, Jessie and James were about to die.

Ever since being fired from Team Rocket after the Silph Co. incident, life hadn't been easy for them. They had served Team Rocket for 10 years, something they were hard-pressed to explain on a resume. After they had exhausted all of their funds (most of it having been frozen by the League), they were stuck working dead-end jobs, struggling to pay their bills while avoiding the ghosts of their past. It hadn't helped that they couldn't get any job based around Pokémon (which was the primary form of employment in Kanto), since they were blacklisted by the Pokémon League. One application would mean police coming for their arrest. Even training their Weezing, Arbok, and Meowth was more trouble than it was worth, leading to a sedentary lifestyle that had weakened them gradually.

This would prove their undoing.

Jessie and James were watching T.V., having just gotten off of work when they heard a knock on the door.

"James, can you go answer that?" Jessie asked him. James nodded, standing up slowly and walking over to the door. The door suddenly slammed open, knocking James to the ground.

"Hey, who are you?" James asked him indignantly, before his neck was twisted 360 degrees. Upon Jessie seeing this, she dived for their pokéballs, her Rocket instincts coming back to her despite the years spent in inactivity. Meowth, Arbok, and Weezing spiraled out.

"Sludge Bomb, ditto, Payday." Jessie ordered. They fired the attacks, only for them to be burst in midair, showering the room in glittering gold and acidic poison.

"Psychic the poison ones, Focus Blast on the Meowth." A voice ordered. Seconds later, the poison Pokémon were slammed into the wall, completely defeated by the move. An explosion blew apart the room, knocking Meowth unconscious and throwing Jesse into the kitchen.

She looked up weakly, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Sludge Bomb again." She said, only to receive no response.

"It's no use." The voice said. Jessie saw her attacker. He wore a black long sleeve shirt that had red adornment, and a collar that was turned up around his neck. He wore plain jeans. His hair was a mismatch of style and neglect. His face was the worst- a cruel, uncaring smirk directed towards the now-dead James.

"I recognize you." She said in horror. "You're the boss's son."

"That weakling?" He asked rhetorically. "I don't recognize him as my father."

"But you're Giovanni's son, why are you doing this?" Jessie asked fearfully, her fate becoming clear. This boy had an Alakazam, one that was definitely well trained. She could attempt to fling herself at him and snap his smug neck, but it would be futile with the psychic Pokémon standing nearby. Her Pokémon were out cold.

Silver smiled, remembering how his father had reacted when Silver found him. How they had battled. And how Silver's training in the Dragon Den had allowed him to utterly annihilate his father's Pokémon, and him.

_Because I was taught a valuable lesson by a good person,_ Silver thought in his head, thinking about Lyra and how her Pokémon had developed from her kindness that she showed toward them. After he had started showing his Pokémon similar kindness, and then genuine affection, their strength had only grown exponentially.

This had the strange effect of making him even angrier, only now it was towards Team Rocket specifically. Thus, he had spent the last year hunting down each and every elite Team Rocket agent who could allow for the group's return to power. Jessie and James were the last on his list.

Not that he said this aloud to Jessie. He ignored her desperate question.

"My Alakazam has been wondering if he could bash someone's head in with a spoon." Silver said uninterestedly. A second later, he had his answer. Alakazam could, but it damaged the spoon.

"Just bend it back into shape." Silver said, pointing out the obvious. Alakazam nodded and fixed the spoon, before flicking away the blood. Alakazam grabbed Silver and then teleported away.

"What do you think I should do now Alakazam?" Silver asked as they went inside his house. Well, not really his house, since it was the house his father had hid in before becoming Feraligatr's dinner.

"Challenge the Pokémon League?" Silver said after receiving a memory of the Indigo Plateau from Alakazam. "I would, but since I'm a Pokémon thief I can't compete here." Alakazam nodded, a little disappointed. Silver could empathize with the Pokémon. He cursed his hare-brained younger self. Even though Professor Elm had forgiven him, the man had still pointed out that since Silver was reported, he couldn't compete in the Johto Pokémon League.

Wait, there was an idea. He had heard good things about the Hoenn League. Yes, he could try asking Professor Elm if he was able to compete there. Plus, he had heard about some crazy fanatics there that were also part of some "Teams". If they were anything like Team Rocket, he would appreciate confronting them as well.

"Alakazam, what do you think of Hoenn?" Silver asked. Alakazam's mouth curled up in a grin.

* * *

**Authors Note: I'm going to try to release a chapter every week or two. Also, enjoy this OMAKE. If you want to make your own, go ahead and send one in. Have a nice day, yall.**

OMAKE:

Red watched patiently as the breeder held Pikachu so that he could examine Pikachu's penis and testicles. The breeder slapped on a glove and started feeling them, causing Red's Pikachu to look at his trainer in concern, and with a little fear towards this strange man. Finally, the man dropped Pikachu on the ground, leaving the mouse Pokémon to try to recover from the molestation.

"So you want me to give you my Pikachu, for a month, for… breeding stock?" Red asked, his face emotionless. Pikachu was sitting nearby, curled up, tail covering its privy-parts.

"Yes. He's probably the most powerful Pikachu in the world, and we want our future Pichu's to have his Volt Tackle. Plus, he probably has max IVs." The breeder said. "I know that most trainers don't like the idea of us starving their Pokémon for two days straight followed by lacing their food with massive amounts of pharmacy-grade aphrodisiacs, but I assure you your Pikachu won't care about a thing."

"Right…" Red said slowly. "And you think that my Pikachu will be, quote "Breeding like a Buneary?"

"Yes-sir-ey, he'll be whoring himself for your financial benefit. Like I said, 1500 a mouse. " The breeder said proudly. "You would get paid in a month, but we think we could get 300 mice out of that stud within a few days. That would equate to 450,000 in total."

"And the numerous female Pikachu involved in this?" Red asked.

"When they say "no", they mean "yes", and when they say "yes", they mean double the impregnation rate." The breeder said proudly. Red just sat there for a few seconds, with his hat pulled down so the breeder couldn't see his face. Red's body shook for the entire time. Finally, Red raised his emotionless face up once more.

"How about I swing by this breeding center that you own later? I'll have my decision by then." Red told him.

"Gotcha'." The breeder said, sure he had obtained his path to prosperity. Red walked out the door, holding Pikachu in his arms.

"I think we need to withdraw Espeon to comfort you Pikachu." Red said. He shook his head in the breeding center's direction.

"Piiii-ka." The electric mouse whimpered, fearful of that strange man.

OMAKE:

"Your Pokémon have been healed. Please come again!" The Nurse Joy said enthusiastically. Red glared at her.

"Do you want my Pokémon to be injured or tired enough to come back?" Red said angrily.

"No, it's just-"

"Just what? Your idea of a laugh? Oh, hahaha, Pokémon getting hurt. I bet you treat Rocket Pokémon injuries." Red interrupted. The Nurse Joy was wide-eyed by this accusation.

"No, of course not-"

"Could've fooled me." Red said, beginning to turn around.

"How dare-"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Red yelled, pointing at the Chansey that stood next to the Nurse Joy. The Pokémon was electrified, and collapsed at once.

"How did you break my cover?" The Nurse Joy said, her voice now closely resembling a chain smoker's. She threw off her nurse outfit, to reveal a Team Rocket bikini©.

"I can smell Rocket funk anywhere. It… leaks from there." Red said maniacally, pointing to her lower body. All around the Pokémon Center, the patrons watched the scene fearfully.

"You should never say that about a woman!" The Team Rocket agent said, looking down her bikini bottom quickly.

"No, not there." Red said, slapping his face in frustration. "Your heart, your heart."

"Oh." The Rocket agent said. They stood still for a few seconds, when the woman's shoulders sagged.

"You don't have any Pokémon on you." Red dead-panned. She nodded sadly.

"Were you just hoping to lead me to my destruction by not healing my Pokémon?" Red asked her. She nodded sadly again.

"Well, you did a piss-poor job." Red said, spitting on the ground of the Pokémon Center.

"What's going on here?" A Police Officer demanded, walking in.

An hour later, the undercover Rocket agent had been apprehended. Red had finally finished giving his statement for the third time.

"Well, that finishes that up. Please call us again." The officer said. Red instantly tensed.

"Call us again? You want me to need to call you people again?" Red demanded. The police officer paled.

"No, it's just-"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Red ordered. Pikachu unleashed the attack, knocking the Police Officer's Growlithe right out. The man slowly chuckled, before throwing off his police uniform, revealing a Team Rocket speedo©.

"How did you reveal my cover?" The man asked, his voice now resembling that of a chain-smoker's.


	3. The Ghosts of Their Pasts

"Saaaaaaand-"Blue's Sandslash hit Lance's Dragonite hard. Slowly, and dramatically, the great dragon fell, as thousands on T.V. watched the former Champion Blue take back the position.

"A few years back, you defeated the Elite Four, only to lose your position within the same day. Now you once again hold the greatest position among Pokémon trainers, one that many spend their whole lives chasing futilely." Lance said regally.

"Yeah, yeah, spare it." Blue said impatiently. "Red gave me permission to become Champion again, and I didn't do it to go through the same inane bullshit I went through at my gym." At this, Lance smiled lightly. The humor was almost enough to make up for the fact that Blue had once again swept the Elite Four without losing a single Pokémon in battle. Or that Lance had only managed to take out Blue's prized Jolteon.

"Fine then, let's get you registered in the Hall of Records." Lance said, rolling his eyes. The two headed into the room, Lance popping Blue's pokéballs into a machine to register them.

"So when is Red going to come running today to knock you from your perch again?" Lance asked rhetorically. Blue gave him the evil eye.

"That isn't happening. I'll just keep this position and keep fighting in exhibition matches, earning even more money than you did with this position. Eventually I'll get bored of all the money and women that come with this position, and then retire to enjoy the rest of my life with my Pokémon." Blue explained, his career path planned out.

"And how are you so sure that Red won't try for Champion again." Lance asked Blue.

"He's off to the Hoenn League." Blue said. Lance paled.

"A Kanto-born going off to Hoenn?" Lance asked.

"This coming from the former Champion born in Johto? Fuck it, he'll have fun there. I hear that everyone walks around in a bikini since the region is half-ocean." Blue said, finishing with a fond tone. He took his pokéballs back from Lance and handed them off to a Nurse Joy who was at standby. The two went to the Champion's Office.

"Never thought I'd have to clear out of this place, at least not this soon. I mean, Lyra didn't want it." Lance said. Blue shrugged.

"That's what you get for being overconfident. I was reminded of that when I fought Red today." Blue commented as the two switched chairs, with Blue sitting in the comfortable leather chair, and Lance on the cushioned wooden chair. Lance was sitting with his photos and papers packed up in his arms, while Blue was busy throwing his things haphazardly into the desk.

"Oh, what happened there?" Lance asked, genuinely curious at the young Champion's growth. That's how Lance always thought of Red, as did most of Kanto and Johto, much like they did of Lyra. Although Lance had been the official Champion with all the money that came with it, Lyra and Red would always be the biggest stars of the connected regions.

"Defeated me 2-0." Blue said, sighing and putting his feet on the desk. Lance had to resist the temptation to tell Blue off, it was the _boy's_ desk now.

"Well, that's Red." Lance said, mentally wincing at the memory of being swept by a single Lapras. That hadn't been a good day.

"He defeated my Sandslash without hitting it once." Blue said. Lance glanced at him in surprise. Blue held off from speaking for a few seconds in order to build up the tension.

"His Lapras against my Sandslash. The thing was huge, larger than Lyra's Gyarados." Blue said. Lance was wide-eyed at this. Lyra's Gyarados was singularly unique, a monstrosity produced by Team Rocket in the Lake of Rage. A violent red, and sure as hell larger than any other of its species.

"It was so tall that it had to lower its head so it could fit. It flooded the entire arena with Surf and froze over a shallow layer of the water. I had my Sandslash glide in the air with Swords Dance, and had it come down for Earthquake. Of course, it burst through the ice into water, and barely shook the arena. And because of Swords Dance, its claws were too sharp to climb up the thin ice. I was afraid of my Sandslash drowning for a second. Plus, that Lapras could eat Sandslash whole." Blue said, shivering at the memory of the hungry expression on the monster's face.

"Got a video of this battle?" Lance asked Blue.

"I do, all of my battles are recorded, per League standards." Blue said, adopting a drone-like accent at the words "per League Standards".

"Great, I'll make sure to share it on the League website." Lance said, starting to slip away. Blue went wide-eyed.

"You can't do that!" Blue said.

"Seniority, my friend. It means that if I'm an Elite Four member, which I am once again, I can take any lower-ranked position I want, if it is vacant. Fortunately, I can assume leadership of the Viridian City gym, since the position is now vacant." Lance said.

"You would give up your Elite Four position just to fuck with me?" Blue asked, incredulous.

"No. I'm giving up my Elite Four position because I'm tired of it. Gym leaders get to be active in the community and battle all the time, even if the trainers battling me are weaker." Lance said happily. He started to close the office door behind him, only to peek his head back in.

"So what was that about not landing a hit on his Lapras?" Lance asked in a faux-innocent tone. Blue groaned.

* * *

"Nice town, isn't it?" Lyra asked as they walked into New Bark Town.

"It looks awful." Red said bluntly.

"What?" Lyra asked, shocked. "It looks just like Pallet Town."

"That's the point." Red said, shrugging. "I want either pure city or pure wilderness." Lyra just shook her head at this.

"Hey Lyra, what's up?" A boy said, jogging over. His Azumarill was trailing after him.

"Hi Ethan, it's been awhile." Lyra said, running over and hugging him.

"I know. By the way, is it true you battled Red on Mount Silver?" Ethan asked her.

"She lost." Red said. Ethan looked over at him in surprise before taking off his hat and pulling out a marker.

"Mr. Papenbrook, can you sign my hat?" Ethan asked.

"No." Red said plainly.

"Please?"

"If you can beat me in a battle." Red said, smirking. Ethan dropped visibly at that.

"Ethan, don't bother Red. We're going to visit my mother." Lyra said.

"Oh, can I come along? Your mother makes the best food." Ethan said eagerly.

"Yes Ethan." Lyra said, rolling her eyes.

The two men trailed behind Lyra. Ethan kept giving Red puppy-dog eyes, which slightly disturbed him. Suddenly, Lyra stopped.

"Hey, Siiiiiiiiilveeeeeer." Lyra screamed, getting the redheads attention.

* * *

Silver exited the laboratory, having just visited Professor Elm. The man had confirmed with Silver that truly, there was no way for him to compete in the Johto/Kanto League, but it was possible to compete in the Hoenn League, and that Elm would set it up for him. With a heart-felt thanks (something rare from Silver), he left, also having set up storage with the Professor for his Pokémon. That was when he heard the familiar yell.

"Hey, Siiiiiiiiilveeeeeer." Lyra screamed, getting the redheads attention. Silver was of two minds at this development. On one hand, he appreciated the person Lyra was, and how she had helped him to develop as a person. On the other hand, she bugged the shit out of him.

"Hello Lyra." Silver said reluctantly, turning around to meet her. She nearly tackled him with a hug, surprising him.

"It's been way too long. I looked for you in the Dragon Den, and asked around, but no one seemed to know where you were." Lyra said, suddenly huffing.

Silver's mind was filled with flashbacks of the Rocket agents he had murdered. A particular one involving him dropping Executive Proton down the Slowpoke Well came to mind, strangely.

"I was busy training." Silver lied.

"Must have been some training, wherever it was. I even went to the Cerulean Cave to look for you." Lyra said pointedly. Silver didn't know how to respond to this, and so he didn't.

"So, what are you up to now?" Lyra asked him, trying to create some conversation.

"Professor Elm just told me that I can battle in the Hoenn League." Silver said, expecting Lyra to start complaining about how he would be too far away now.

"Red, Silver is going to challenge the Hoenn League. Can he come with us?" Lyra asked.

"No, he'll slow us down." Red said bluntly.

"When did I say I would travel with you two?" Silver said, bluntly as well. Although the mention of Red…

Silver turned to look at Red. The guy was pale, to an unhealthy degree. His eyes were pure red, something that many Kanto people had, but looked demonic on the young Champion. His hair was the strangest of all- a messy mop of black hair, darker than tar. Even if he wasn't a Champion, he would stand out in a crowd. Especially with that strange Pikachu that always followed him around, outside a pokéball.

Red, upon noticing Silver examining him gave his signature grin. Silver would have been scared by this, if it wasn't for the fact he knew what his father was like. No human could be worse than him.

"Please Red? Pleeeeeaaaassssseeee?" Lyra asked him.

"No. I don't want to wait for him to finish his gym battles." Red said, bluntly again.

"Please Red? It's only an extra few hours to wait, at most." Lyra asked, again.

"When did I ask for this?" Silver said helplessly, looking to Ethan for assistance. He just gave Silver a wry grin and mimed laughter. Silver had to choke back the temptation of clocking the idiot.

"No." Red said, impatiently now. Before he could realize what she was doing, she suddenly leaned against him. Like no woman had ever done to him. Her entire body was pressed up against him.

"Please?" Lyra asked softly, looking into his eyes only inches away. Red's entire face went… red.

"I d-d-don't know." Red said, his mind now blank. She had some sort of flowery smell about her, reminding Red of Erika's gym. The women he had seen there... Not to mention Erika herself, and where exactly she kept her pokéballs in her kimono, and how she would pull them out, showing off so much skin…

"Come on Red. At most, it'll only be a few extra days of waiting at most. There are only eight gyms, after all." Lyra said, now saying this into his neck. Her lips briefly trailed Red's neck, sending goose bumps through his whole body. Red was sure his Pikachu was shocking him, because he felt something shoot through his spine. Lyra still kept her head close to his neck, exhaling across his skin.

"Sure." Red said, unsure on how to say no to this woman.

"Good boy." Lyra said, before suddenly peeling away from Red. Red blinked, did he just do that?

"Now Silver, are you going to agree to go with us, or are you going to need the same treatment?" Lyra said, starting to walk toward him.

"No, no, I'll go with you two." Silver said, nearly falling down as he walked back. Lyra was cute, but he didn't think of her in **that **way.

"Good." Lyra said, walking away. Ethan looked at the two and started actually laughing.

"You two look like Magikarp out of the water." Ethan commented, earning an angry look from Silver and a rather blank look from Red.

* * *

"And so that is how Silver, Red, and I decided to go to Hoenn together." Lyra said happily, before stuffing some casserole into her mouth. Lyra had retold the past few days to her mother.

"I wish you had told me you were going to Mt. Silver." Lyra's mother said, shaking her head.

"If I had, you would have tried to talk me out of it." Lyra said unapologetically. Lyra's mother just shook her head. It was accurate, but for good reason. People who wanted to live didn't go to Mt. Silver. Red probably had the record for the longest stay on Mt. Silver.

"It must have been hard, living on Mt. Silver Red." Lyra's mother commented, turning to Red. Red nodded. The four others at the table stared at him until Ethan spoke up.

"What was it like?" Ethan asked. Red cleared his throat.

"The Pokémon were difficult." Red said.

* * *

Red's Pokémon surrounded him, making a defensive barrier as they shot elemental attack after elemental attack at the Sneasel pack, intent on defending their trainer. The Sneasel kept trying to come in close and attack Red, but were constantly knocked back by Pikachu, who personally used her Iron Tail attack like a baseball bat.

* * *

Red was crouched low. He saw a Sneasel come close to him, only for Charizard to hit the Sneasel with Metal Claw. A second Metal Claw killed it.

* * *

"Veeeeeeeen" Venusaur roared, covered in ice particles. It unleashed a Frenzy Plant, knocking away a dozen Sneasel. Having long ago lost the need to rest after Frenzy Plant, it started using Synthesis and Growth, taking advantage of a pre-arranged Sunny Day that Charizard had sent up.

* * *

A Tyranitar shot a Hyper Beam at Red. Before it could hit him, Blastoise stood in front using Protect. Red was enveloped by the Protect, looking concerned as the Hyper Beam was warped around them. Nearby, Red's Pokémon kept throwing attack after attack at Tyranitar, engulfing the monster in a ground-shaking explosion.

* * *

A large flock of Golbat flew at Red. Red's Espeon sniped them out of the air with her Psybeam, while his other Pokémon tore the rest of the Golbat flock off of Lapras, who was groaning in pain as the bat Pokémon attempted to drain its blood. Red's Aerodactyl soared through the air after the fearful Crobat leaders of the flock, hungry for a meal.

* * *

"Difficult?" Ethan asked.

"Difficult." Red said after him. The others simply took this to mean that he wasn't willing to talk about it, and went back to discussing various topics.

The three ended up staying the night. Red was in a sleeping bag, as was Silver, both in Lyra's room. Lyra had insisted on this arrangement, calling it a "sleepover".

Red shook his head at that. Lyra had forced him and Silver to talk for a whole three hours before allowing them to go to bed.

He was woken up the next morning by the sound of Silver getting up. Red got up silently, scaring the living shit out of Silver.

"How did you do that?" Silver asked him, having grabbed a pokéball instinctively. Red stared at him.

"You getting up silently." Silver added.

"On Mount Silver, you had to tread carefully sometimes." Red said. He had often ventured down the slopes and caves of the mountain with his Pokémon while training. While the summit wasn't exactly peaceful, going into other territory guaranteed conflict for his Pokémon to train against. When doing so, he had to remain as stealthy as possible, not wanting to be attacked directly. Silver nodded in respect to Red.

Once both were dressed, they went downstairs, where Lyra's mother was talking to Professor Elm while cooking breakfast.

"Hello Silver, Miss Kotone just finished telling me about how you are going with Red and Lyra to Hoenn. Is this true?" Professor Elm asked him.

"It is." Silver said.

"Great, I'll make sure to tell Professor Oak that you are part of Red's group. I'm sure the Hoenn League will be pleased to have another trainer like yourself in Hoenn." Professor Elm said, before taking a sip of coffee.

"Why would he need to know that? And why would the Hoenn League be pleased over this?" Silver asked, confused.

"Oh, Lyra and Red didn't tell you? They are going to fight Team Magma and Aqua activity as they come across it." Professor Elm said, as if it was just another part of a League Challenge. Lyra's mother, upon hearing this stormed up the stairs to her daughter. Red silently took over cooking.

"Interesting." Silver said, smirking. "If we're going to fight them, we will need books on Hoenn culture, as well as books on how these two teams gained prominence in the region." His mind was buzzing. With official League recognition, he wouldn't be a vigilante. He would be able to get a lot more done, since he wouldn't have to take them down secretly.

Lyra and her mother came down the stairs a few minutes later. Lyra was red-faced, with her hands at her hips defiantly, while her mother was similarly red with tears running down her face. She thanked Red silently for cooking, and took over again.

"So when are we going to the Hoenn League?" Lyra said, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

"Um, about that. The League officials in Hoenn want to know where to meet you so they can talk about what you can and cannot do there." Professor Elm explained.

"Tell them Petalburg beach." Red said.

"Why there?" Professor Elm asked, not remembering there being a dock for ships there.

"We're going by Lapras." Red said.

"Good luck with that. I remember Professor Oak telling me about your Lapras. Is it really bigger than Lyra's Gyarados?"

"Yes."

"By Lapras!" Lyra's mother said incredulously. "Don't you know what is in the ocean between Johto and Hoenn?"

"I do." Red said. He was interested in the rumors that no one could go over Jellicent waters and live. As for the various Sharpedo or Gyarados populations, well… no water Pokémon could defeat his Pikachu.

"Then why would you go through it?" Lyra's mother asked incredulously.

"Training." Red said simply. The woman just left the room, leaving an awkward silence.

Or, as Red would describe it, a conversation that he controlled.

* * *

A few hours later, over the rants of Lyra's mother the three had packed enough food and water to last three weeks in their bag's bulk storage unit, even though Red had stated that the trip should only take a week. They also had stocked up on emergency supplies- full restores, full heals, max potions, and revives. Silver had even gotten a gift from Professor Elm- a book on the history of Hoenn, which even had a whole chapter dedicated to Team Aqua and Magma.

"Does everyone have all the stuff they need?" Red said. Silver and Lyra nodded.

"Pokémon you want for this trip?" Red asked again. Silver and Lyra nodded once more. Lyra had the same Pokémon that she had taken with her to Mount Silver, plus Ampharos and Togekiss. Silver only had six Pokémon, so he didn't have to choose what to take for the trip. Red himself had taken all but three of his Pokémon.

"Good." Red said. He sent out his Lapras and climbed onboard, Silver and Lyra climbing after him. Red pointed to a relatively flat spot on the top of the shell.

"Set up a tent here. Only one." Red instructed. Other spots on the shell had more than enough space for each person to have their own tent, but Red wanted their Pokémon to enjoy the trip with them, so he wanted there to be plenty of free space for the land-dwellers. Lyra quickly unfolded the tent out of her backpack, and with practiced motions set up the tent within a few minutes. It was just barely large enough for two people. Silver and Lyra would be staying inside it when it rained, while Red would simply be sleeping with his Pokémon outside no matter what. He had explained that he was too used to it by now to do otherwise.

"Lapras, Surf." Red ordered. Lapras took off, zooming through the water.

* * *

Lyra looked over all the Pokémon. All of her Pokémon were either lying about, talking with each other, swimming (in the case of her Gyarados), serving as a wonderful, if shocking pillow (in the case of Ampharos), or flying, in the case of her Lugia, Dragonite and Togekiss. Lugia seemed especially overjoyed to be over the ocean again, and would constantly dive into the water, only to explode back out holding a random water Pokémon- a Relicanth had been the latest surprise. Who knew that Lugia would be a prankster? Lyra smiled at this thought, before deciding that she would have her Lugia out all the time whenever they were in the constant sea in and surrounding Hoenn.

Silver's Pokémon had seemed paranoid the moment they were sent out, before being told that they could fully relax. This seemed to relieve them, and were the most exuberant on this trip. Crobat, Gengar, and Magneton would constantly zip around in the air, sometimes even daring to play around with her Togekiss and Lugia. Feraligator played around in water alongside her Gyarados, although both often had to play catch up with the speed that Red's Lapras could go. Alakazam kept up a constant conversation with Lapras, both talking and occasionally nodding. Probably exchanging philosophical thought, Lyra thought. Silver's Weavile was lying against her trainer, while both snored. Silver was surprisingly peaceful for once- even at her house he had been tense while sleeping. Lyra snorted. It was probably because he was surrounded by two Pokémon teams belonging to Champions. He had always been paranoid, although Lyra didn't understand why.

Red's Pokémon were the most curious. His Pikachu chatted with Red's Espeon, both occasionally rubbing up against each other and playing around with Pikachu's Light Ball. It was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. Red's Snorlax was constantly sticking its hand into the water, and to her astonishment actually managed to catch a few Magikarp. These quickly became dinner. Blastoise would play a game of tag with Lugia for a bit before the two went on a wild chase against each other. Venusaur was the exact opposite of this exuberance- laying down and soaking the sun, occasionally chiming into the conversation between Alakazam and Lapras. Red's Charizard was constantly flying around, trying to goad her Dragonite into a race, to no avail. Red's Aerodactyl, which had surprised Lyra greatly (in that Red owned one) often took pity on Charizard and gave the dragon a race, before taking a break upon Lapras's head. Kabutops (again surprising Lyra in that Red had one) would zoom below Lapras occasionally, bringing back up some sort of water Pokémon that was drained of its blood. The rest of the carcass would then be shared with Snorlax. In between feeding times the Pokémon would either swim alongside Lapras or sleep. Red's Gyarados had tried flirting with her Gyarados, but had been rejected harshly (A Hyper Beam to the face, to be exact). His Gyarados had sullenly returned itself to its pokéball and hadn't been sent out since.

Red's final Pokémon had been a shock. Red had warned of "dire consequences" if they revealed to anyone anything they learned about this Pokémon. She had found herself staring at a purple cat/human/Frieza thing before being informed of what it was by Silver.

"Mewtwo…" Silver said, surprising Lyra by his recognition of the Pokémon. Instantly, Silver had found himself thrown hard to the ground before anyone realized what was happening.

"Mewtwo, let's hear him out." Red said slowly. Silver's Pokémon instantly leapt into various battle positions and surrounded the psychic Pokémon, intent on ripping it limb from limb from tail appendage thingy if it hurt Silver. Mewtwo relaxed slowly, choosing to listen to Red. Silver got up, wincing in pain before he stumbled over to his Weavile. Lyra instantly recognized Silver gain a defensive posture- fists clenched, eyes hardened, and chin shaking. He was prepared for a fight.

"Mind telling me what a former Rocket is doing on my Lapras?" Red asked Silver harshly. Lyra took a breath that she didn't let out. Her Pokémon had taken similar battle positions, although they didn't seem sure whether or not to attack, and whom to attack.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Silver spat at Red.

"Wrong choice human." Mewtwo said, grabbing Silver psychically. Silver's Pokémon instantly started charging attacks.

"Stop it." Lyra yelled. "He's not Rocket!"

"How do you know that Lyra? The only people, other than me who would know about Mewtwo would be Rocket." Red said. "Maybe he's wanting Rocket v.3."

"Because I saw him reject Giovanni." Lyra said desperately, choosing to reveal her knowledge of the incident. Silver appeared stunned, while Red looked at her curiously. Lyra decided to explain.

"I went back into the past once-"Lyra ignored Red's skeptical look. "And found Giovanni and him fighting. He didn't agree with his father."

"His father?" Red asked pointedly. Lyra let out an "eep!" She hadn't meant to say that. Silver appeared even more stunned. "What exactly did he not agree with?" Red asked pointedly. Lyra shifted uneasily.

"He called his father weak." Lyra said lamely. Red turned around grimly toward Silver.

"Broke off with your father over being beaten by a 13 year old kid?" Red asked him. Mewtwo started to glow with some kind of attack, its tail swishing back and forth wildly.

"I did." Silver said slowly. "But now I don't agree with my former beliefs that strength is everything."

"Prove to us that you can be trusted. Otherwise I'm tossing you off this shell." Red said dangerously. "And I'll put out information about your identity."

"Red, it's not a crime to be someone's son." Lyra said, trying to mediate this situation. Red turned around at her and glared, his blood-colored eyes narrowed.

"Can you honestly say that he's never stolen a Pokémon? Or has he inherited that legacy from his father?" Red asked her. Lyra stumbled at that. He had stolen a Pokémon. And, to be honest, she had no idea how he used to treat his Pokémon either. He may once have been as bad as a Rocket.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I mean no harm?" Silver asked, now scared. If his name was put out into the general public… He could never have a moment of peace again. He would never get to compete in a Pokémon League.

"How about everything you know about Team Rocket? We'll start from there." Red said to him.

Silver did. He told them everything. How he had been taught at a young age by Team Rocket grunts who babysat him. About what little operations he had known of, and what he knew of Mewtwo's origins. This set Lyra's mind spinning. A clone of Mew for the purpose of conquering Kanto? Only Team Rocket would do that.

Silver kept blurting out information. How once he became a trainer, he murdered Team Rocket agents whenever they tried to take him back to his father, or even absurdly tried to rally around him after their defeat at Goldenrod. How he had hunted down every elite agent of Team Rocket that he knew of, starting with his father Giovanni.

Red just sat stone-faced, listening to all of this. Finally, Silver was finished and looked at Red expectantly. His future was in the hands of this Champion. Red finally spoke.

"Why did you go out of your way to kill Rocket agents after Team Rocket was done for?" Red asked him point blank. Silver sighed.

"It's because Lyra taught me a lesson about Pokémon. I never wanted Team Rocket to rise again after that. And I didn't want anyone growing up like I did." Silver finished blankly. He had effectively laid forth his entire life story, as well as enough incriminating evidence to live the rest of his life in jail. Red stared at him for a few seconds, before turning his attention to Lyra.

"What lesson?" Red asked her.

"I told him that if he wanted to become more powerful, he should care for his Pokémon." Lyra said. Red nodded, and then took a few seconds to think.

"I agree." Red said simply. He didn't elaborate on this point, and chose to change back to what was going on. "I believe that you don't intend us harm." It helped, although Red didn't say it that Silver killed all those former elite Rocket agents who would hate Red. He still remembered those months after he attacked the Celadon City hideout for Team Rocket. Some nights, he couldn't sleep for fear of being attacked in the middle of the wilderness, where no one would ever find him… In some cases, he actually was attacked. Running from these fights had been pointless, and they only ever ended with the persons attacking him being rendered helpless. Eventually, he stopped letting them live as well.

Only made Team Rocket fall so much faster.

"My Pikachu will be watching you at all times." Red said, finally. Mewtwo let his attack die down.

Nobody quite relaxed for the next two days, until Mewtwo and Silver had some kind of quiet chat on top of Lapras's head. Afterwards, the Pokémon had talked with Red, and soon everyone was fine with each other again.

It made Lyra happy. She had chatted with Mewtwo as well, although he seemed to constantly try to draw her in on thoughts about living that left her head spinning. Silver and (Him? Was Mewtwo a "him"?) seemed to get along more, ironically. Both would discuss things about humans taking things for granted, and the paranoia that the two had about getting caught.

Lyra was broken out of her musings by Silver calling to Red.

"We're getting near Jellicent waters." Silver said, his eyes twitching back and forth. Lyra felt a cold shiver go down her spine. No one was found again after they went into Jellicent waters. Fog would roll in, noise would be heard from the outside that indicated a Pokémon battle, and then the vessel or human and their Pokémon would be gone. Thankfully, Jellicent were very small in population, and only tended to take up a few square miles of space on average, their borders delineated clearly by a strange glow-in-the-dark seaweed that stretched straight up from the ocean floor.

"I have a map right here. We only have to take a thirty minute detour at most, and we'll be clear of it." Silver said. Lyra found herself nodding. Even planes that flew too low to the ground were attacked by Jellicent.

"We're going right through it. Return all Pokémon not on the Lapras." Red said, to Silver and Lyra's horror.

"Are you insane, or stupid?" Silver asked Red. Red turned around. His face was split in his signature Cheshire grin, his red eyes open in delight. The sun setting behind him merely sent rays of redness through him.

"I was once told that no ghost could harm me. I want to see if this is true." Red said. Lyra nearly pissed her pants, while Silver scoffed at the display.

"Mewtwo, you've seen the route plan. Carry them around the perimeter of the Jellicent waters and have them meet me there." Red asked. Silver and Lyra returned their Pokémon. Red returned all of his Pokémon except for his Pikachu, Lapras, and Mewtwo. He took a deep breath as he watched them get closer, closer, closer…

They passed over the signature glowing seaweed. Fog started to spring up from out of nowhere. Despite his bravado earlier, Red was starting to have his doubts…

* * *

Red shouldered on despite the cold. It tore at his entire body, seeping through every layer of clothing that he had on.

He had fought his way up here. Something wrong was happening. Half the trainers he had fought had their Pokémon attack him. He had defeated them, only for them to suddenly return to normal and have no idea what he was doing with his Charizard ready to eat them.

Worse, the ghosts here were particularly violent. Red knew that ghost Pokémon were strange, but he also knew for a fact that they didn't normally invoke so much fear that his Pokémon couldn't even attack. Red himself felt an intense fear, one that screamed for him to run.

But he still marched on. He knew from talking to one of the people at the base of the tower that he was almost at the top. Almost done walking through the ascending maze of graves that was Lavender Tower.

That was when his Pikachu flew in front of him, and was thrown into him. Red looked in shock at the apparition facing him, and he instantly felt the same flight response from earlier. He pointed his Silph Scope toward it, revealing a transparent Marowak.

* * *

The ocean water was disturbingly calm. The water didn't move, except by Lapras swimming through it.

Red looked at his map again. It would only take a few minutes to get through this area.

He heard a splash to his left and looked toward it. It was a female Jellicent. He heard another splash behind him. Another Jellicent, this one male. He started to hear more splashes, their frequency rivalling the popping of popcorn. Eventually, he found himself surrounded on all sides but forward with Jellicent.

"Small in population my ass." Red muttered. There were already dozens, and more kept splashing to the surface in greater frequency.

The ocean finally quieted down. Red scanned the entire area around him and his Lapras. He was surrounded by Jellicent on all sides, as far as he could see through the fog. Red gripped the pokéball holding his Aerodactyl carefully. If they attacked, he would have maybe a second to get away.

* * *

"If this is about your child Cubone, I know that it is safe and sound in a house nearby to the tower." Red told the ghost Marowak. It was struggling to get up, having been torn apart by his Wartortle, and his Venusaur. The Marowak nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't move from the spot. Red sighed again.

"What is happening here? Is there any way I can help?" Red asked. The Marowak pointed its bone toward the stairs, and faded. Red knew it wasn't gone though. His Pikachu was still too tense for that to be true. Red walked up the stairs, noticing Pikachu calm down. He looked to either side. Some kind of ritualistic paper tags, probably kept ghost Pokémon away.

He finished climbing up the stairs, only to nearly be hit by Sludge attacks. Pikachu intercepted with a Thundershock.

"It's that twerp!" James said excitedly.

"Forget these Marowak skulls, do you realize how much money we would get by killing him!" Jesse said excitedly as well. Red ignored their conversation and sent out his Eevee.

* * *

Each of the Jellicent's eyes glistened red, purple, or pink. The whole ocean surface was lit up like some kind of twisted dance floor. The light illuminated the ocean enough for Red to see what was below the surface- a ship graveyard. They were all perfectly preserved, bar several holes in their hulls. They ranged from old wooden sailboats to a large, modern cruise ship. There were also skeletons of Pokémon amongst the ships, with one prominent one resembling what Red believed was a Wailord.

* * *

Red cursed. The two Rockets had escaped by blasting a hole in the wall, and using their Weezing to carry them away with its Levitate ability. Instead of going after them, he chose to attend to the old man they had held hostage. He sat on the ground weakly, groaning in pain.

"Are you alright sir?" Red asked, feeling stupid for even saying that.

"I'll manage." The old man said, gasping but managing to stand up. "Thank you for dealing with them. They have done great evil while they were here. I fear that no Marowak shall ever dwell here again."

"These are a lot of skulls." Red commented. The old man nodded.

"A lot of poachers go after them for money. Many old-fashioned healers use Marowak skull, believing it has medicinal purposes. Alas, it does not, nor is it a particularly good reason to kill the Marowak." The old man commented. He shook his head.

"I fear this will take a long time to bury them." He spoke again, looking at the skulls. There were about fifty of them, ranging in size.

"I can help." Red told him quietly. The old man looked at Red for a little bit, and then nodded.

"Perhaps you can. We can only hope that it helps quell the spirits in this tower." The old man responded. Red personally agreed.

* * *

A few days later, the child Cubone got to watch its mother's skull be buried. Red watched stone-faced, maintaining his calm demeanor even though his heart ached at what Team Rocket had done. The Marowak spirit appeared before him briefly at this time. Red shifted his hands toward a pokéball, ready to fight again, but it was not needed. The Marowak instead gave its bone to Red. He looked curiously at it before the thing turned to dust in his hands, coating them in a fine white powder. He looked back toward where the ghost had been, but it was gone.

"You've been blessed." The old man, who Red had learned was named Mr. Fuji commented. Red turned around to face him.

"Unless you agitate them, I do not think you will ever have to fear a wild ghost Pokémon attacking you personally." Mr. Fuji continued. Red stared at his bone-covered hands, and then back toward Mr. Fuji. Suddenly, the old man threw something through the air, Red just barely catching the long, thin object.

"It's a pokéflute." He explained. "The path to Fuchsia city from here is blocked by a Snorlax. I daresay you will find this handy."

"Thank you." Red said. Mr. Fuji didn't say anything, merely giving him a look that read "Really?" The young trainer walked away, heading toward the next gym.

* * *

"My ghost Pokémon like you too much." Agatha complained, as her Gengar attempted to drag Red into a silly-face contest rather than battle his Snorlax. Red just grinned at her. The old woman grumbled.

"Does Mr. Fuji have something to do with this?" Agatha demanded. Red nodded gently. Agatha sighed.

"You must have done something really good for him. Gengar, stop goofing around and battle the fool's Pokémon." Agatha ordered. It took another five minutes for the battle to begin. Red managed to beat her 6-0, just as he had managed to defeat Lorelei and Bruno. Red was about to head to the next room before Agatha stopped him.

"My ghost Pokémon held back. You would have still won, but I assure you that if they hadn't held back, you would be going to Lance with at least two less Pokémon." Agatha warned.

"A bit overconfident in your Pokémon." Red commented simply, brushing her off. He went through the next door, leaving Agatha to glare at his back. The moment he exited, her expression softened.

"I definitely see what Professor Oak sees in him." She said softly.

* * *

The Jellicent continued to simply watch Red. He slowly reached into his backpack and pulled out the pokéflute. Red started to play a tune he had created himself. A gentle depressing wave of music rolled out. None of the Jellicent reacted, but Red was sure they would enjoy it. A few minutes later, Red finished crossing the Jellicent territory, where Lyra and Silver watched in shock as he approached them, and watched in greater shock as all the Jellicent glowed at Red a final time. The entirety of the ocean floor beneath them were bones and destroyed ships. The entirety of the ocean floor was gray and white, dyed so by the gradual erosion of the bones. Each of the trainers blinked, and it all was gone. No Jellicent. No fog. No bones and destroyed ships. Only the normal rolling waves in the ocean, and a thin line of seaweed ascending from the ocean floor. Mewtwo slowly lowered the two trainers back onto Red's Lapras.

"You're the first to ever cross Jellicent waters alive." Lyra softly informed Red, still shaken by the sight of all those Jellicent.

"I doubt that." Red commented, before putting away his pokéflute.

**Authors Note: Thanks for reading guys. Sorry for no battle this chapter. I'll try to get in at least one the next chapter. **

OMAKE:

"You want my Snorlax for a Pokémon porn film?" Red asked in horror. His face was the palest it had ever been at this statement.

"Of course!" The fat sweaty director said. "There is a large, largely unfulfilled following of Snorlax fetish out there. Gardevoir on Girthy, Delcatty Plays With a Big One, Slaking Shagging, Two Snorlax One Roserade, all of them I have planned for your Snorlax."

OMAKE:

Blue looked at the trainer before him. The girl had a resigned look to her. He couldn't blame her. She had fought valiantly through the Elite Four, going up again some of the most powerful trainers four times in a row, all of them without her Pokémon being healed. She had fought like a warrior, her Pokémon showing themselves to be the best of the best. No trainer could be expected to be that good.

And yet, it wasn't good enough. She had one Pokémon left, a Blissey. Against all six of Blue's Pokémon. She had no chance.

And yet, this girl fought on. Despite the fact she knew she would lose. Despite the fact that Blue's Pokémon could trounce hers. All to be the very best she could be.

And it still wasn't enough. Thousands of trainers participated in the Pokémon League challenge around the world. Only about a thousand could beat a gym. Only about 400 could get eight gym badges. And only about 200 of those could beat a single Elite Four member. And out of those, only 20 ever got to challenge the actual sitting Champion.

She had transcended so many odds. She was literally better than 99.9% of the trainer population.

And it was about to end here and now. Sure, she could challenge Blue again. But for her Pokémon to be able to beat him, she would have to train for years, years spent where Blue would be developing his team more, training his existing team, and bettering himself as a trainer. She would probably pay catch-up for the rest of her life in vain. As long as Blue was Champion, she would never gain that lauded title.

"You only have one Pokémon left, and it's hurt badly. It doesn't matter how much Blissey can heal itself. My Jolteon will only hurt it faster." Blue told her. She gripped her pokéball defiantly, while still holding that resigned look. Without a word, she sent out her Blissey. Blue whispered into his pokéball, before sending out Jolteon. A few seconds later, Blissey fell to the ground, defeated by a point-blank Pin Missile.

The girl collapsed to the ground, returning her Blissey. Tears ran down her face. Blue knew from her trainer record that she had spent three years getting eight gym badges. Another year she spent training her Pokémon, before challenging the Elite Four.

"Since you have beaten the Elite Four, you can assume a position as the last Elite Four member in the challenge." Blue informed her. The girl merely clenched her fists before walking away.

A year later, Blue walked into a café with Lance. Blue had decided to visit the Viridian City gym, to see how Lance was handling it. Blue wasn't disappointed. Not only did Lance prevent a large amount of challengers from ever reaching him, he also taught anyone willing to listen to him about battling. The new trainers in Kanto had never been better, after so many were educated by the former Champion.

"And so that's how I caught a wild Garchomp." Lance finished telling Blue, as they waited to be served.

"Hello, may I take your order?"

"Yes, I'd like some coffee. Plain coffee, black please." Lance said. Blue glanced up at the waitress to give his order, only to be shocked by who she was.

"I remember you. You beat the Elite Four, and fought me with your Blissey." Blue said in shock. The two stared at each other, before she spoke.

"May I take your order?" The woman said, her voice cracking.

"No, I'm good." Blue said awkwardly. The woman left. Lance looked at Blue, who appeared stunned.

"I don't get it. She's good enough to be part of the Elite Four. She could have challenged the Pokémon League again. Why is she a waitress?" Blue asked himself, stunned.

"Some people can't stand being second best." Lance said, shrugging. A different waitress came by their table to deliver the coffee a minute later.

Blue, who had never managed to beat Red, who had become Champion only to be beaten a few hours later by Red once more, who had been an undefeated gym leader before Lyra, who had gladly taken the Champion position again with permission from Red, while knowing that Red was still at least twice as good as himself, knowing that he was only the third-best, but didn't care-

He got up and walked away.

OMAKE:

"I never blamed you. If anything, it was my fault for not getting to the Pokémon Center soon enough. "Blue said somberly. Both Red and Blue stood next to each other, arms around each other's shoulders, looking at a gravestone. Red had taken a day to meet up with Blue, a month after having beaten the former Champion. On the gravestone was engraved:

**RATICATE- OWNED BY BLUE OAK**

**Pride Cometh Before the Fall**

"Thank you." Red said quietly. They stood there for a minute quietly, before walking away.

"Lavender Town is going along with the redevelopment plans after all. They decided a radio tower was more important than the dead." Blue said bitterly as they exited the tower. Red appeared shocked at this, glancing at the tower where he had come so close to dying so many times.

"Aren't they worried about how the ghost Pokémon will react?" Red asked in disbelief. Blue shook his head.

"No, they are either relocating the remains to a secret chamber in a new building they designed to house Pokémon remains, or are burying it in the nearby mountains with a shaman's blessing." Blue said. "Apparently Mr. Fuji was pretty confident that this wouldn't anger spirits."

"He didn't take it well though." Red posed, partly as a question.

"From what I heard, no." Blue said. Red just shook his head at this.

"So what have you been up to Blue?" Red asked him.

"Catching Pokémon, meeting babes. You?"

"Caught a clone of Mew."

"Sounds like something you would be up to." Blue deadpanned. "Anything else?"

"Convincing Mewtwo not to wreak vigilante justice on Team Rocket."

"Is that its name?"

"Yeah."

"Good luck with it."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

"You too. Don't forget to visit your mom."

"I'll try." Red forgot about this a few hours later.


	4. Apologies

Authors Note: My apologies for not updating in a long time. I'm working-ish on a new chapter, but I've just been so busy working and going to university that it's taking awhile. Thank you for bearing with me, and I hope to finish the next chapter soon.


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